BR 

V47 

ag Sbort Catecbism 



OF- 



CHURCH HISTORY 

FOR THE — - 

Irigbcr $ra&es of CatboUc Scboote, 



BY THE 

Rev, % 9* Oecbteritig* 



ST. LOIJIS, MO., i«o». 
Published by B. HERDER, 

17 SOUTH BROADWAY. 



MM 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



ChapZBJ? Copyright No. X^Q 
Shelf-... .©3 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Short Catechism 



OF 



CHURCH HISTORY 



FOR THE 



Higher Grades of Catholic Schools* 



BY THE 

REV- > f H, Oechtering. 



Second Edition. 



ST. LOUIS, MO., 1899, 

Published by B, HERDER, 

1 7 South Broadway. 




43196 

NIHIL OBSTAT. 

F. G. Hoi/weck, 

Censor Theologicus. 

St. Louis, Mo., January 16th, 1899. 



A 



<\ 



V 



F& 



IMPRIMATUR. 

f John J. Kain, 

Archbishop of St. Louis, Mo. 

St. Louis, Mo., January 18th, 1899. 



Copyright, 1899, by Jos. GUMMERSBACH. 
TWO COPIES RECEIVED, 



SECOND COPY, 



!IS 






(n) 



PREFACE. 



TTHE Catechism of Church History which is 
* herewith presented to the public, will receive a 
cordial welcome from our Catholic teachers. The 
educational value of history is universally conceded, 
and no history has such lessons of wisdom and con- 
duct to teach as that of the Church, which is the 
continuation of the life and work of Our Divine 
Lord. It is His permanent, visible presence in the 
world. It is the continuous verification of His 
words that the gates of hell shall not prevail. It is 
all-important, therefore, that the young be made 
acquainted with the leading facts of Church History, 
and a Catechism of Church History offers the simplest 
and most effective means of imparting to them this 
knowledge. The author of the present volume has 
had long experience as a pastor and teacher, and it 
is confidently believed that in publishing this work, 
he renders a genuine service to our schools. 

J. C7 SpIlding, 

Bishop of Peoria. 
Peoria, March 10, 1899. 

(in) 



INDEX. 

Introduction. Page. 
Christ and His Church V 

Chapter I. 
The Foundation of the Church and its Beginning 1 

Chapter II. 
The Persecutions by the Roman Emperors 7 

Chapter III. 
Constantine's Conversion. — The Great Heresies arid the 
Fathers of the Church 13 

Chapter IV. 
Monastic Life 21 

Chapter V. 
The Church and the Barbarian Nations of Europe 23 

Chapter VI. 
Origin of Church Property and the Temporal Power of the 
Popes 30 

Chapter VII. 
Mohammedanism. — The Greek Schism 33 

Chapter VIII. 
The Crusades 37 

Chapter IX. 
Church and State in the Middle Ages 43 

Chapter X. 
Benefits which the Church bestowed upon the World during 
the Middle Ages 50 

Chapter XI. 
The So-called Reformation, or the Apostasy of Protestantism, 51 

Chapter XII. 
Council of Trent, 1545-1563, and its Results 65 

Chapter XIII.. 
The Eighteenth Century 71 

Chapter XIV. 
The Nineteenth Century 77 

L,ist of the Popes 85 

(iv) 



INTRODUCTION. 

Christ and His Church. 

Q. What is the central and greatest event 
in the history of God's dealings with man ? 

R. The central and greatest event in 
the history of God's dealings with man 
is the Redemption of the world by Jesus 
Christ, the Son of God. 

Q. Had this event been foretold in ancient 
times * 

R. The coming of the Redeemer had 
been promised by God to our first parents 
after their fall, and this promise had been 
renewed to the patriarchs of old. 

Q. Did the hope of the coming' Redeemer 
remain alive in the ancient world ? 

R. The heathen nations, who had 
apostatized from God and fallen into 
idolatry, retained only an obscure and 
distorted tradition of the future incarna- 
tion of God and the Redemption. 

Note. — Suetonius and Tacitus, writers of an- 
cient pagan Rome, have left it on record that 
about the time of the birth of Christ the world 
was full of rumors about a mysterious power, 
which, according to old traditions, was to rise 
in Palestine and rule the whole world. 

(J. Which people was chosen by God in 
this general apostasy to preserve fully the 
hope of the coming Redeemer I 

R. The people of Israel was chosen 

by God to fully preserve the hope of the 

(v) 



VI 



coming Redeemer, and to prepare and 
foreshadow the coming kingdom of God 
on earth. 

Q. How did God sustain Israel in this 
mission 2 

R. God sustained Israel in this sacred 
mission by frequent prophecies and His 
miraculous protection and guidance of 
the nation. 

Q. When did God fulfill his promise of 
the coming' Redeemer ? 

R. God fulfilled his promise and 
prophecies about the coming Redeemer 
when he sent His only begotten Son, 
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost 
and born of the Virgin Mary. 

Q. How has Christ redeemed the world i 

R. Christ has redeemed the world by 
his passion and death on the cross. 

Q. What has Christ done in order to insure 
for all times to the world the fruits of His 
redemption 2 

R. In order to insure for all times to 
the world the fruits of His redemption, 
He established His Church. 

Q. How did Christ establish His Church 2 

R. Christ established His Church by 
choosing and appointing His apostles as 
bishops over His flock, and one of them, 



VII 

St. Peter, as the supreme head. "Thou 
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
my Church." (Matt. 16, 18.) 

Q. Which powers did Christ give to His 
Church, in order to bring- the fruits of the 
Redemption to mankind I 

R. Christ gave to His Church a three- 
fold power: 

1. To teach all nations His divine 
truth. (Matt. 28, 19-20.) 

2. To administer His grace by the 
Holy Sacrifice of the altar and the Sac- 
raments. (St. Luke 22, 19; St. Matt. 28, 
19; St. John 20,23.) 

3. To guide and rule the lambs and 
sheep of His flock. (St. John 21, 17.) 

Q. How did Christ enable His Church to 
fulfill this dhine commission ? 

R. 1. He promised that He would be 
with His Church even unto the consum- 
mation of the world. (Matt. 28, 13.) 

2. He sent the Holy Ghost to abide 
with His Church for ever. (St. John, 
14, 16.) 

Q. What, therefore, is the character of 
the Church I 

R. The Church is a divine institution 
consisting of men, but possessing the 
abiding presence of Jesus Christ and the 
continual assistance and guidance of the 
Holy Ghost. 



VIII 

Q. By what titles has the Church been 
called in Holy Scriptures ? 

R. 1. In the Old Testament the 
prophet calls her the kingdom of the Mes- 
sias, which is to be without end. (Is. 9,7.) 

2. Jesus Christ calls her His Church, 
against which the gates of hell shall not 
prevail. (Math. 16, 18.) The one fold 
under one shepherd. (John 10, 16.) The 
light of the world, the city seated on a 
mountain that cannot be hid. (Math. 5, 
14.) The kingdom of heaven. (Math. 
16, 19.) 

3. St. Paul calls her the ground and 
pillar of truth. (I. Tim. 3, 15.) The 
flock of Christ wherein the Holy Ghost 
hath placed the bishops to rule. (Act. 
20, 28.) In his letter to the Ephesians 
(Chap. 5) he describes her as the immac- 
ulate spouse of Christ, and in I. Cor., 12, 
as "the visible body of Christ, whose 
members the faithful are." 

NOTE.— The history of the Church is the 
record of her career through time and of the 
fulfillment of her divine mission on earth. Ac- 
cording to His promise, Christ is with her, 
teaches, gives grace, and rules through her; and 
she shares with Him the hatred of hell and the 
opposition of the world, as she is destined to 
share his eternal glory in heaven. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Foundation of the Church and 
Its Beginning:. 

Q. Who founded the Church I 

R. Christ founded the Church and 
gave her the divine commission to lead 
mankind to salvation by teaching His 
divine truth and administering the means 
of grace. On Pentecost day He sent the 
Holy Ghost to abide with His Church, 
forever, as her guiding and life-giving 
principle. 

Q. What was the condition of the world 
when the Church commenced her mission ? 

R. All nations, except the Jews, 
adored false gods, idols, and even beasts. 
They worshipped them by foul crimes 
and even human sacrifices. Immorality 
prevailed and the rights of God and man 
were spurned. 

Q. What was the attitude of the Jews 1 

R. They retained the belief in the one 
true God, but rejected and crucified the 
Son of God, the Messias, who had been 
promised to them by God and announced 
by their prophets. 



Q. What did the Apostles do after the de- 
scent of the Holy Grost ? 

R. They went to preach the gospel 
to the whole world. St. Peter established 
his see at Antioch, but later removed it 
to Rome, where he was crucified during 
the persecution of Nero in the year 67, 
June the 29th. 

St. Paul made four great voyages and 
brought the gospel to Cyprus, Asia 
Minor, Greece, Italy and Spain. After 
a life of incessant apostolic labors he was 
martyred at Rome. 

St. James, the brother of St. John, la- 
bored in Judaea, and as tradition states, 
also in Spain. He was beheaded under 
King Herod Agrippa (A. D. 43.) 

St. John became bishop of Ephesus 
and directed the churches of Asia Minor 
until he died of old age about the year 100. 

St. James, the Less, became bishop of 
Jerusalem and was called the Just on ac- 
count of his holiness. For professing 
that Christ is sitting at the right hand of 
God, he was cast from the wall of the 
temple and slain with a fuller's club in 
the year 63. 

St. Andrew preached in Southern Rus- 
sia and on the coast of the Black Sea. 
He died, nailed to the cross, at Patras in 
Greece. 



St. Philip died at Hierapolis in Phrygia, 
Asia Minor. St. Bartholomew went to 
Armenia, where he received the crown 
of martyrdom, being flayed alive. 

St. Thomas is said to have gone to 
India; St. Jude Thaddeus,to Syria, Meso- 
potamia, and Persia; St. Simon, to Egypt, 
Northern Africa, and Babylon. St. Mat- 
thias is said to have come into the 
countries south of the Caucasus, and 
St. Matthew, to the countries south of 
the Caspian Sea. 

Q. How was the preaching 1 of the Apostles 
confirmed I 

R. The preaching of the Apostles was 
confirmed by their numerous miracles, 
the holiness of their lives, their heroic sac- 
rifice of all earthly things, and especially 
by the shedding of their blood in testi- 
mony of the truth. 

Q. How did the Apostles succeed with the 
Jews I 

R. Although many were converted, 
the majority and the leaders of the na- 
tion not only remained obstinate, but 
persecuted the Christians. Therefore, 
God rejected them and delivered them 
into the hands of their enemies. In the 
year 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the 
Roman army under Titus. A million of 



_ 4 _ 

Jews perished in the war, forty thousand 
were crucified, many were sold as slaves, 
and the rest were scattered throughout 
the world. 

Q. What was the Apostles' success among 
the heathens ? 

R. The Apostles converted great 
numbers of heathens in many lands. In 
the prominent cities of the Roman empire 
congregations were formed over which 
they placed their disciples as bishops and 
priests, and from them the Christian re- 
ligion spread in ever-widening circles. 

For instance, St. Paul appointed his disciple 
Titus as bishop of the island of Crete, and in- 
structed him to ordain and send bishops to the 
different districts. St. Peter sent his disciple 
St. Mark to Alexandria, whence Christianity 
spread over all Egypt. 

St. Justin wrote about the year 150: "There 
is no people, neither among the barbarians, nor 
the Greeks, nor any known tribe, where pray- 
ers and thanksgivings are not offered to God in 
the name of Christ Crucified." 

Q, From whom came this wonderful suc- 
cess? 

R. Such wonderful success could come 
from God only ; for, to the proud and 
immoral heathen the doctrine of Christ 
Crucified seemed folly, and the practice of 
humility and Christian virtue, a moral 
impossibility. 



— 5 — 

Q. Which of the Apostles hare left us 
sacred writings I 

R. St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. 
Matthew, St. James, St. Jude Thaddeus, 
and two disciples of the Apostles, St. 
Luke and St. Mark. 

Their writings form the New Testa- 
ment, and have been received by the 
Church into her list of inspired books, 
called the "Canon." 

Four gospels by St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. 
Luke, St. John. 

The acts of the Apostles by St. Luke. Four- 
teen epistles of St. Paul: To Romans (1), 
Corinthians (2), Galatians (1), Ephesians (1), 
Philippians (1), Colossians (1), Thessalonians 
(2), Timothy (2), Titus (1), Philemon (1), He- 
brews (1). 1 epistle of St. James, 2 of St. Peter, 
3 of St. John, 1 of St. Jude. Apocalypse of St. 
John. 

Q. About what time were they written ? 

R. The Church had been evangelizing 
the world for about 17 years, St. James 
and St. Stephen had been martyred, and 
the persecution by the Jews had passed, 
when the Apostles began to write. The 
gospel of St. Matthew was compiled about 
the year 50, and that of St. John, about 
the year 96. The other books of the New 
Testament were written during the time 
intervening. 



— 6 — 

Q, How did the Church receive the hooks 
of the Old Testament into her canon 2 

R. The Church received into her 
Canon the books of the Old Testament 
which were handed down by ancient 
Jewish tradition, recognized by Christ 
and the Apostles, and sanctioned by the 
councils. 

Q. Did the disciples of the Apostles leave 
us any writings ? 

R. Several disciples of the Apostles, 
called also Apostolic Fathers, left im- 
portant writings; for instance, St. Clem- 
ent of Rome, fourth successor of St. 
Peter, wrote a letter to the Corinthians; 
St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch and dis- 
ciple of St. John, left seven letters to us; 
and St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and 
also a disciple of St. John, left one letter. 

NoTK. — The apostolic age has left upon the 
Church the distinguishing mark of apostolicity. 
Her popes hold the legitimate and unbroken suc- 
cession in the apostolic see, which St. Peter, as 
head of the Church, established in Rome; the 
lines of her bishops can be traced with unde- 
niable certainty to apostolic origin; she received 
and guarded the writings of the Apostles and 
thus formed the Canon of the New Testament; 
the bodies and relics of the Apostles rest under 
her altars. Of her, therefore, St. Paul says: 
"Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and 
Prophets, Jesus Christ being Himself the corner- 
stone." (Eph. II, 20.) 



CHAPTER II. 

The Persecutions by the Roman 
Emperors. 

Q. What did the pagan world do in order 
to check the rapid spread of Christianity 2 

R. The Roman emperors, who gov- 
erned the world, decreed ten great and 
bloody persecutions. 

Q. Name these persecutions. 

R. First persecution, under Nero, 
about 64 He had set Rome on fire, but 
cast the blame on the Christians. They 
were killed by the thousands in the 
streets; many were sewed in sacks be- 
smeared with pitch, and burned alive in 
the nightly garden feasts of Nero. St. 
Peter and St. Paul died in this persecution. 

Second persecution, under Domitian, 
about 95. During this persecution, St. 
John was cast into a caldron of boiling 
oil, but was miraculously preserved. He 
then was banished to the isle of Patmos, 
where he received divine revelations 
about the future of the Church and the 
glory of Heaven, and wrote the Apoca- 
lypse. 

Third persecution, under Trajan, about 
107. Pope St. Clement was one of the 

(7) 



— 8 — 

first victims; St. Ignatius, bishop of An- 
tioch, was cast before the lions in the 
amphitheatre at Rome; and Simeon, sec- 
ond bishop of Jerusalem, was crucified. 

Fourth persecution, under Hadrian, 
about 130. In this St. Symphorosa and 
her seven sons suffered martyrdom. He 
profaned the holy places in Jerusalem 
and erected statues of false gods on Cal- 
vary and over the holy Sepulchre of our 
Iyord. 

Fifth persecution, under Marcus Aurel- 
ius, about 167. St. Polycarp, a disciple 
of St. John and bishop of Smyrna, suf- 
fered martyrdom at the stake in the 86th 
year of his life. The persecution was 
terrible in Lyons and Vienne, France, 
where St. Pothinus and Blandina were 
martyred. Although the famous Chris- 
tian legion called "Fulminatrix" saved 
the army in a miraculous manner by its 
prayers, the emperor remained unrelent- 
ing towards the Christians. 

Sixth persecution, under Septimius 
Severus, about 202. This emperor had 
been cured by a Christian; nevertheless 
he turned against them. St. Clement of 
Alexandria said of this persecution: "We 
see daily many martyrs burned and 
crucified before our eyes." St. Irenaeus 



— 9 — 

suffered at Lyons, St. Perpetua and St. 
Felicitas at Carthage, St. Leonidas at 
Alexandria. 

Seventh persecution, under Maximinus 
Thrax, about 236. On account of re- 
peated earthquakes which the heathens 
ascribed to the neglect of their gods, they 
demanded another persecution of the 
Christians. The two popes, Pontianus 
and Antherus, and many others suffered 
martyrdom. 

Eighth persecution, under Decius, 
about 250. This most bloody and sys- 
tematic persecution which was directed 
especially against the bishops and the 
clergy, was decreed by Decius under the 
plea that Christianity and the Roman Em- 
pire could never be reconciled. Among 
the holy victims were the virgins St. 
Agatha and St. Apollonia. 

Ninth persecution, under Valerian, 
about 258. In Rome, Pope Sixtus II 
and St. Lawrence were martyred. In 
Africa St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. 

At Utica, Africa, 153 Christians were 
cast alive into pits and covered with 
quicklime. 

Tenth persecution, under Diocletian, 
about 303. In this St. Agnes, St. Sebas- 
tian, St. Pancratius, St. Lucia, St. Anas- 



— 10 — 

tasia in Rome, and St. Catherine in Alex- 
andria, suffered martyrdom. 

Q. What torments did the martyrs suffer ? 

R. They were scourged, put to the 
rack, cast before wild beasts, burnt at 
the stake, crucified, and tortured in many 
other ways according to the cruel cus- 
toms of pagan times. 

Q. What did these persecutions prove ? 

R. These persecutions proved that a 
religion which for three hundred years 
passed safely through such trials and 
victoriously withstood the bloody on- 
slaught of the world's greatest empire, 
must be from God. 

Q. How did Almighty God avenge the per- 
secutions of His Church ? 

R. 1. Nearly all of these persecutors 

died a miserable death. 

2. Barbarian nations laid waste the 
frontiers and the distant provinces of the 
Roman Empire. 

3. Earthquakes, floods, drouths, fam- 
ines, and dreadful diseases visited the 
nation. 

Nero had to fly before the open revolt of the 
people and stabbed himself in despair. Domitian 
was assassinated. Hadrian became insane from 
despair. Marcus Aurelius, heartbroken over the 
ingratitude of his profligate and only son Com- 



11 



modus, starved himself to death. Septimius 
Severus, whose life had been attempted by his 
own son, died in despair. Decius ended miser- 
ably in a swamp during an unlucky battle with 
the Goths. Valerian was taken prisoner by 
Sapor, king of Persia, and flayed alive. Max- 
en tius was drowned in the Tiber, and Diocle- 
tian starved himself to death. 

Q. What was the attitude of the first 
Christians during these persecutions ? 

R. While thousands of martyrs bore 
torture and death with heroic fortitude, 
the Christians worshipped in hidden 
places (catacombs) with unflagging zeal, 
and their learned men defended the faith 
in numerous writings. 

Q. Name some of these early writers or 
apologists. 

R. St. Justin, a philosopher and after- 
wards martyr, wrote an excellent apology 
and presented it to the Emperor, Marcus 
Aurelius. 

St. Clement of Alexandria and his great 
disciple Origen refuted in profound works 
the teachings of Celsus and other philoso- 
phers, who had assailed Christianity. 

Tertullian, formerly a Roman lawyer 
and later a Christian, and St. Cyprian, 
bishop of Carthage and martyr, showed 
in learned works the emptiness of pagan- 
ism and the just claims of the Christian 



— 12 — 

religion to philosophical and political re- 
cognition. 

St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons and dis- 
ciple of Bishop Polycarp (who was a dis- 
ciple of St. John the Apostle), wrote a 
famous work against the heresies of 
those times. 

Q. What heresy afflicted the Church in 
those times ? 

R. The heresy of Gnosticism, which 
claimed to possess the secret of a higher 
knowledge and taught the eternity of 
matter, its formation into the world by 
an evil spirit, and the sinfulness of ma- 
terial things. 

NoTK. — Persecutions and martyrdom are the 
distinguishing traits in the history of the Church 
and will continue as long as time will last, be- 
cause Christ has said: "The servant is not 
greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted 
me, they will persecute you." (St. John XV, 20.) 
But from every persecution the Church has 
risen in new, divinely infused vigor and sanc- 
tity; and the blood of martyrs became, as Ter- 
tullian has written, * 'the seed of Christians." 



CHAPTER III. 

Constantine's Conversion. — The 
Great Heresies and the Fa- 
thers of the Church. 

Q. How did God give peace to His Church ? 

R. God gave peace to His Church 
through the miraculous conversion of 
Emperor Constantine, in the year 312. 

Q. How was Constantine converted I 

R. A cross, surrounded by the words, 
4 'In this sign thou shalt conquer," ap- 
peared in the heavens to him and his army. 
Adopting the cross as his standard, he 
marched against the pagan Emperor 
Maxentius and gained a glorious victory, 
by which he became the sole Christian 
emperor of the world. 

Q. What did Constantine do for the 
Church I 

R. He became the zealous protector 
of the Church, gave full liberty to her, 
honored the popes and bishops, and 
built magnificent churches; so that, in a 
short time, Christianity became the chief 
religion of the Roman Empire. His 
mother, St. Helena, brought the holy 
cross and many sacred relics from Jerusa- 
lem to Rome. 

(13) 



— 14 — 

Q. What happened after the external ene- 
mies of the Church had been conquered 2 

R. The Church of God, which is and 
always will be the Church militant on 
earth, had to conquer internal foes, i. £., 
the false prophets of heresy, as Christ 
had foretold. 

Q. Name the prominent heresies. 

R. I. Arianism. — Arius, an apostate 
priest of Alexandria, about 320 denied 
the divinity of the Son, the second Person 
of the Blessed Trinity. His heresy, sup- 
ported by several emperors of Constanti- 
nople, spread far and wide and lasted till 
the seventh century. 

II. Macedonianism. — Macedonius, 
bishop of Constantinople, denied the 
divinity of the Holy Ghost, the third 
Person in the Blessed Trinity. 

III. Pelagianism. — Pelagius, a British 
monk, about the year 400, denied orig- 
inal sin and the necessity of grace. 

IV. Nestorianism . — Nestor ius , patri- 
arch of Constantinople, taught the ex- 
istence of two persons in Christ, a divine 
and a human, and that, therefore, Mary 
should not be called the Mother of God. 

V. Heresy of the Monophysites. — 
Eutyches, abbot of a convent near Con- 
stantinople, taught that there was but 



15 



one nature in Christ, the divine; from 
which it would follow, that Christ could 
not have died to redeem us. 

VI. Heresy of the Monothelites. — 
Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, and 
his followers taught that there was only 
one will in Christ, the divine and not a 
human. 

VII. Leo, the Isaurian, emperor of 
Constantinople, attacked the use and ven- 
eration of holy images. He and his 
adherents w r ere called Iconoclasts or 
image-breakers. 

Q. How did the Church combat these 
heresies \ 

R. By general or ecumenical councils, 
i. e. t assemblies of bishops under the 
direction of the popes. 

Q. Name some of these councils. 

R. 1. The Council of Nice in Asia 
Minor, opposite Constantinople, con- 
demned Arianism, and declared that the 
Son is true God, consubstantial — i. £.,of 
the same substance — with the Father. 
(A. D. 325.) 

2. Council of Constantinople (381) 
condemned Macedonius and declared the 
divinity of the Holy Ghost. 

3. The heresy of Pelagius was con- 
demned by the provincial council of 



— 16 - 

Carthage, and finally by Pope Innocent I. 
(417). 

4. Council of Ephesus (431) condemned 
Nestorius and declared, amidst the re- 
joicing of the whole world, that Mary is 
truly the Mother of God. 

5. The Council of Chalcedon (451) 
condemned Eutyches, and declared that 
there are two natures in Christ, a hu- 
man and a divine, both in one person. 
When at this council the letter of Pope 
Leo I. was read, the assembled bishops 
cried out: <k St. Peter has spoken through 
Leo." 

6. The Council of Constantinople 
(called the Trullanum from the church 
in which it was held, 680), condemned 
the heresy of the Monothelites, and de- 
clared that there are two wills in Christ, 
the divine and the human, both under 
the control of the one divine Person in 
Christ. 

7. Iconoclasm was silenced at the sec- 
ond Council of Nice in the year 787. 

Q. Who were the holy and learned men 
that took a prominent part in these combats 
against heresy? 

R. The " Fathers of the Church," who 
lived during these times, were the chief 
opponents of these heresies. 



— 17 — 

Q. To whom is given the title "Fathers 
of the Church 2 " 

R. The title ''Fathers of the Church" 
is given to men of great holiness and 
learning whom God sent to His Church 
during the first centuries, to nourish the 
faith of her children with their sacred 
knowledge, and whose writings have for 
all times become the standard sources of 
Catholic truth. 

Q. Who are the most noted among the 
Fathers of the Church 1 

R. The most noted among the Greek 
Fathers are St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. 
Gregory of Nazianzum, and St. John 
Chrysostom; among the L,atin Fathers, 
St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, 
and St. Gregory, the Great. 

Q. Describe the four great Greek Fathers. 

R. 1. St. Athanasius, the Great, (293 
to 373), bishop of Alexandria. — His long 
life was a continual warfare against the 
Arian heresy. Five times the Arian 
rulers sent him into exile, but the great 
confessor of the faith never flinched. 
At his death, Arianism was also left in a 
dying state. 

2. St. Basil, the Great, (330 to 374), 
bishop of Caesarea. — A saint as great and 
2 



— 18 — 

cultured in mind as he was ascetic and 
frail in body. He defeated Arianism in 
the larger part of Asia Minor and is the 
author of the monastic rule which has 
been followed by the religious Orders of 
the East up to the present time. 

3. St. Gregory of Nazianzum (330 to 
to 390), the intimate friend of St. Basil. 
— His writings were considered by his 
age of such authority, that the historian 
Rufinus wrote of him: "It is the general 
verdict, that whosoever does not agree 
with St. Gregory, cannot be right in his 
faith." 

4. St. John Chrysostom (344 to 407), 
patriarch of Constantinople, called on 
account of his wonderful eloquence "the 
golden-mouthed."— His zeal against the 
vices of his time brought him persecution 
and banishment, which he bore with 
heroic patience. He died on his way to 
exile with the words on his lips: "Praise 
to God for all this." 

Q. Describe the four great Latin Fathers. 

R. 1. St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan 
(344 to 397), honored by rulers and 
people. — Through his energy the last 
remnants of paganism were removed and 
Arianism destroyed throughout Italy. 



— 19 — 

He is said to have composed the famous 
hymn Te Dcum. 

2. St. Jerome (331 to 424.)— He was a 
man of vast learning and a personal 
friend of Pope Damasus, at whose com- 
mand he translated the Holy Scriptures 
from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. 
This translation, called the Vulgate, be- 
came the official and standard textbook 
of the Church. 

3. St. Augustine (354 to 430), bishop 
of Hippo, Northern Africa. — In his youth 
he had fallen into heresy and immorality, 
but, through the prayers of his holy 
mother Monica and the preaching of St. 
Ambrose, he was converted. He gave up 
his brilliant career of lawyer and became 
one of the greatest lights of sacred learn- 
ing the Church ever had. He refuted 
the heresies of the Donatists and the 
Pelagians. 

4. St. Gregory, the Great, (540 to 605). 
— One of the greatest popes in the see of 
St. Peter, and a true reformer of Church 
discipline. He is the father of plain 
chant, which is prescribed for the solemn 
service of the Church and is called after 
him the ' 'Gregorian Chant." 



— 20 — 

Q. Which emperor tried to revive pagan- 
ism ? 

R. Emperor Julian, called the Apos- 
tate, about the year 361, tried to revive 
paganism and to suppress the Church, 
but he failed and fell in a battle against 
the Persians, crying out in despair: 
"Galilean, thou hast conquered!" 

Note. — Heresies and false prophets had been 
foretold by Christ and His Apostles. Blinded by 
passion or by the suggestion of the devil, men set 
up their own teaching against divine truth and 
the authority of the Church. But the Church, 
guided by the unerring light of the Holy Ghost, 
always detects and condemns these false doc- 
trines, so that divine truth is vindicated before 
the world and thus stands forever in clear and 
distinct outlines before the Christian mind 
(dogma). These constant victories of the 
Church over the heresies of every age prove 
her infallibility. 






CHAPTER IV. 

Monastic Life. 

Q. What remarkable form of religious 
life originated during the third century 2 

R. During the third century there 
originated the Monastic L,ife, which is a 
life led in seclusion from the world, and 
devoted to the pursuit of higher Christian 
perfection. (Monastic from the Greek 
word monos, i. e., alone.) 

Q. In which of Christ's teachings has Mo- 
nastic Life its source 2 

R. Monastic Life has its source in the 
three evangelical counsels, which were 
taught by Christ, illustrated by his life, 
and continually practiced in the Church 
from the time of the apostles. 

The three evangelical counsels are voluntary 
poverty, chastity, and obedience. 

Q. How did the Monastic Life begin and 
develop I 

R. 1. Monastic life began with the 
hermits, who had left the world and re- 
tired to the desert, especially during the 
persecution of Decius, 250. St. Paul, 
the hermit of Thebes, died at the age of 
115 years. 

2. Soon the hermits formed congrega- 
tions, living separately in cells but under 
a common spiritual director, called 
abbot. St. Anthony of Egypt, one of the 
holiest fathers of the desert, was the chief 
promoter of this form of monastic life. 

3. Finally monasteries were founded, 
wherein the monks lived under a com- 

(21) 



— 22 — 

mon rule. St. Pachomius established 
such in Egypt, St. Hilarion,in Palestine, 
St Basil, in Asia Minor. 

4. In the West monastic life found its 
chief patrons in St. Ambrose, St. Augus- 
tine, St. Martin of Tours, and other 
great and holy bishops. 

5. St. Benedict (f543) became the 

founder of the great Benedictine order, 

and compiled his famous rule in which 

prayer, study, manual labor, silence, and 

mortification are harmoniously blended. 

Pope Gregory the Great was an ardent 

protector of the order. 

Q. What was the effect of the awakening 
of this monastic spirit upon the world ? 

R. So great became the longing for 
higher perfection that within a short 
time the East and the West abounded in 
monasteries, which became the homes of 
holiness and learning. 

The Benedictine Order alone produced 1,560 
canonized Saints. 

Note. — Holiness is the second mark of the 
Church, and it manifests itself in a special man- 
ner through the practice of the evangelical coun- 
sels, by which the closest resemblance to the 
life of our Lord is attained. By far the larger 
number of Saints canonized by the Church have 
sprung from Monastic Life, and throughout the 
history of Christianity the religious orders have 
produced the richest blossoms of sanctity, and 
have been prominent centers from which faith, pi- 
ety, and sacred learning radiated into the world. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Church and the Barbarian 
Nations of Europe, 

(j. What great event threatened to de- 
stroy Christianity and ancient civilization in 
Western Europe I 

R. The migration of nations, which 
occurred from the fourth to the seventh 
centuries, threatened to destroy Christian- 
ity and ancient civilization in Western 
Europe. The Roman empire fell under 
it in the year 475, and the barbarian 
Goths, Franks, Vandals, Sueves, Lom- 
bards, Saxons, and other German tribes, 
founded new states over its ruins. 

Q. Which was the most barbarous nation 
of this epoch I 

R. The Huns, a nation of Mongolian 
descent that had come from Asia and 
overrun Western Europe in the fifth cen- 
tury. Their King, Attila, called himself 
the ' 'scourge of God " and ravaged Ger- 
many and France with sword and fire. 
When he fell upon Italy, Pope Leo, the 
Great, went to meet him. Struck by the 
Pope's venerable appearance and threat- 
ened by a heavenly apparition, Attila 
agreed to leave Italy and returned to 
Hungary. 

(23) 



24 



Q. What position did the Church assume 
toward these savage nations ? 

R. The Church, conscious of her di- 
vine mission, undertook at once to be- 
come the teacher and spiritual mother of 
these barbarian nations. 

Q. In what manner did she set about this 
task? 

R. The Church sent missionaries to 

them, who preached the Gospel and 

established churches and schools in their 

midst. 

Q. How did Divine Providence aid the 
Church in this great work ? 

R. About the year 500, St. Benedict 
founded the great Benedictine Order, 
which became the providential instru- 
ment for christianizing and civilizing 
these barbarian nations. 

Q. How was this accomplished ? 

R. The holy monks established con- 
vents in the wild forests, cleared and 
cultivated the land, taught the people 
religion and morality, established schools 
for their education, and instructed them 
in agriculture, the trades, and the arts. 

Q. Name some of the great missionaries 
of this epoch, 

R. St. Patrick converted Ireland about 
the year 432. St. Columba, an Irish 



— 25 — 

monk, and St. Ninian, converted Scot- 
land (596). St. Austin, with forty Bene- 
dictine monks, was sent by Pope Gregory 
to England, about the year 596, where 
he converted King Ethelbert and his 
people with the help of the pious Queen 
Bertha. 

The Netherlands were evangelized by 
St. Piatus and St. Servatius in the third 
and fourth centuries; after the migration 
of nations, St. Eligius, St. Amand, St. 
Willibrord, and St. Eambert completed 
the w 7 ork. 

Q. How was France converted ? 

R. France had been evangelized 
during and shortly after the apostolic 
times, by Eazarus, Martha, Magdalen, 
Dionysius, and others ; but, through the 
immigration of the pagan Franks, it had 
been torn from the Church. 

(}. How was France brought back to the 
Church I 

R. Clovis, the king, was led to the 
faith by his holy wife Clotilda. In the 
battle with the Allemanni, being nearly 
defeated, he called upon Christ, the God 
of Clotilda, and gained a miraculous vic- 
tory. He was baptized by St. Remigius 
in 496, and brought his people with him 
into the Church. 



26 



Q. How was Spain christianized? 

R. Spain had received the faith from 
St. Paul, St. James, and the disciples of 
the Apostles; but, during the migration 
of nations, the Arian Visigoths tore Spain 
from the Church. Through the martyr- 
dom of Prince Hermenegild and the teach- 
ing of St. L,eander and St. Isidore, King 
Reccared was converted and brought the 
country back to the Church under Pope 
Gregory about 595. 

Q. How was Germany christianized ? 

R. The countries along the Rhine 
and Danube were converted by the dis- 
ciples of the Apostles. St. Helena, 
mother of Constantine, lived at Treves in 
325, and bishops resided there, and at 
Cologne, Mayence, and in many cities of 
southern Germany. But, after the sav- 
age nations had overrun Germany, holy 
missionaries, mainly from England and 
Ireland, preached the gospel to them. 
St. Severin preached in Austria, St. Fri- 
dolin in Baden, St. Gall in Switzerland, 
SS. Kilian and Rupert in Bavaria. 

Q. Who was the greatest apostle of Ger- 
many 2 

R. St. Winfrid, an English Benedic- 
tine monk, to whom Pope Gregory II. gave 
the name of Boniface, converted middle 
and northern Germany. (8th Century). 



— 27 — 

Q. How did he overcome the stubbornness 
of the savage Germans 2 

R. With an ax he cut down the fa- 
mous sacred oak of their god Donar, and 
built out of its wood the first Christian 
Church. He founded many bishoprics, 
built convents and schools for the educa- 
tion of young men, and brought into the 
land holy women like St. Thecla, St. 
Lioba, and St. Walburgis, who estab- 
lished convents for the education of the 
daughters of the nation. 

Q. How were Sweden, Norway, and Den- 
mark converted 1 

R. The great Apostle St. Ansgar 
sowed the seed of the gospel in Sweden 
about 850. King Canute, at the inter- 
cession of the holy Queen Emma, com- 
pleted the conversion of Denmark. King 
Olaf completed that of Sweden, and King 
Olaf, the Holy, that of Norway, about 
the tenth century. 

Q. What about the Lombards in northern 
Italy I 

R. The Lombards had destroyed the 
Christian religion in northern Italy, but 
were converted through the iufluence of 
Pope Gregory, the Great and the holy 
Queen Theodolinda, a daughter of the 
Duke of Bavaria. 



— 28 — 

(J. What about the Slavonic nations 2 

R. St. Cyril and St. Methodius, sent 
by the Pope in 870, converted a large 
number of Slavs. King Borzivoi and 
his holy Queen St. L,udmilla, with the 
help of missionaries from Germany, 
established Christianity in Bohemia. St. 
Adalbert of Prague became the apostle of 
Prussia about the year 1000. Poland was 
evangelized about the same time through 
the influence of its Prince Miesko I. 
St. Stephen, the holy king of Hungary, 
completed the conversion of his country 
with the help of apostolic missionaries 
from Germany about the year 1000. 
Russia was received into the Church 
under Czar Wladimir (1000). 

Q. Who was the emperor that exercised 
the greatest influence in forming a Christian 
commonwealth in western and middle Europe? 

R. Charles the Great, emperor of the 
Frankish empire which comprised the 
larger portion of western and middle 
Europe. He was crowned by Pope Leo 
III. on Christinas day (800), as Roman 
emperor and protector of the Church. 
He pacified Europe, built cities, colleges, 
schools, and churches, erected bishoprics, 
protected popes and bishops, and was the 
great ideal of a Christian statesman, 



— 29 — 

whose equal the world has never seen 
since. 

Note. — Before the Church converted and civil- 
ized these barbarian nations, they were steeped 
in gross idolatry, ferocious in war, enslaved to 
great vices, and roamed the forest in a savage 
state. The civilized and cultured Christian 
nations, which to-day rule the world, are their 
descendants. They owe their greatness chiefly 
to the Catholic Church. But the process of 
their education required patient toil and firm- 
ness, tempered by charity, and these the Church 
bestowed upon them with motherly care during 
the Middle Ages. 

The spirit of our modern times is different. 
In spite of professing "humanity," its advanc- 
ing step brought to the Indian population of 
the North American continent, not civiliza- 
tion, but extirpation. Such is the difference 
of results between the Church which works for 
the sake of God, and modern thought which 
works for the sake of man. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Origin of Church Property and 

the Temporal Power of 

the Popes. 

Q. In what manner did the Church ac- 
quire temporal possessions among the newly 
converted nations ? 

R. 1. The early missionaries, bishops, 
and especially the religious Orders, who 
settled down among the barbarian na- 
tions, cleared and cultivated the soil in 
the wild forests, which they had either 
bought or received as gifts. 

2. In gratitude for the gift of faith, 
the boundless charity, and civilizing in- 
fluence bestowed by the Church, princes 
and people made frequent gifts of lands 
to her for the foundation and endowment 
of institutions devoted to religion, educa- 
tion, and charity. 

3. Around cathedrals and abbeys people 
settled down, forming counties, villages, 
and cities, and freely chose the temporal 
government of bishops and abbots, pre- 
ferring their mild rule to that of secular 
lords. Emperors and kings favored this 
as conducive to the stability and order of 
the realm, and made bishops and abbots 

(30) 



— 31 — 

feudal lords over their bishoprics and 
lands. 

Q. What was the origin of the temporal 
power of the popes or the pontifical states 2 

R. 1. Since the first centuries of the 
Christian era, the popes have received 
frequent donations of estates in and 
around Rome through the generosity of 
devout wealthy Christian families. Up 
to the seventh century, the possessions of 
the Holy See had grown to such an 
extent that they comprised a large portion 
of middle Italy. They were called the 
Patrimony of St. Peter. 

2. After the seventh century, the em- 
perors who resided at Constantinople, 
had virtually abandoned their rights and 
left Rome and Italy exposed to the in- 
vasions of barbarian nations. In this 
distress the people turned to the Holy 
See for protection and the popes re- 
peatedly saved Rome from destruction 
and acted as rulers chosen spontaneously 
by the people. 

3. Finally, when the Lombards at- 
tempted the conquest of Rome and all 
demands for help were left unanswered 
by the emperor, Pope Stephen II. appealed 
to Pepin, king of the Franks. The 
Lombards were defeated and Rome de- 



— 32 — 

livered. Pepin restored the Patrimony 
of St. Peter to the Pope and laid the 
keys of the cities taken from the Lom- 
bards on the tomb of St. Peter, in token 
of their donation to the Holy See. 
Charlemagne, his son, confirmed this 
donation. Thus the temporal power of 
the pope originated and rests on most 
just and legitimate titles. 

NoTK. — This property, in the hands of the 
Church, became a great blessing to the people of 
the Middle Ages. It was not devoted to the sup- 
port of religion alone, but by far the larger por- 
tion of its revenues was applied to public charities 
and to promote elementary and higher educa- 
tion, so that universities, colleges, and common 
schools were almost free and state taxation for 
public charities,unnecessary and unknown. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Mohammedanism.— The Greek 
Schism. 

Q. What great dangers arose to threaten 
Christian civilization in the seventh century % 

R. Mohammed, a native of Arabia, 
arose about the year 622 and taught a 
false religion, which he compiled from 
old pagan ideas and from the Christian 
and Jewish religions and embodied in the 
Koran. He was an imposter and an im- 
moral man. He preached fanaticism, 
bloodshed, and the grossest immoralities. 
The great tenet of his faith is: "God 
alone is God, and Mohammed is his 
prophet." 

Q. How did his religion succeed 2 
R. It preached bloody war against 
all nations, promised paradise to every 
Mohammedan who would fall in such a 
war, and thus his adherents conquered 
and plundered the countries of the East. 

Q. How did they treat the Christian 
countries ? 

R. They took Palestine, Syria, Persia, 
Asia Minor, Northern Africa, and Spain, 
and reduced the Christian population to 
the lowest condition of poverty and 
oppression. 

3 ^33) 



34 



They would have conquered all Europe 
had not the Franks under Charles Mar- 
tel beaten their immense army in the 
battle of Toulouse (744). 

They finally took Constantinople and 
the Balkan peninsula, and would have 
conquered Germany, had they not been 
overcome by Austria and Poland. 

Q. What did the conquest of Jerusalem 
by the Mohammedans cause 2 

R. The conquest of Jerusalem caused 
the great crusades of European chivalry 
for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre 
of the Iyord. 

Mohammedanism with its conquests and op- 
pression became a scourge to the countries of 
the East that had rebelled so often by heresies 
and schism against the divinely instituted au- 
thority of the Church. At the same time Divine 
Providence used it as a means to unite the 
Christian nations of Europe and to direct their 
warlike energies from internal feuds to enter- 
prises of heroic faith and charity. 

Q. What is schism ? 

R. Schism is the separation from the 
Church through rebellion against the 
authority of the Pope; it differs from 
heresy in this, that it retains the doctrines 
of the church. 

Q. What schism happened in the Church ? 

R. About the middle of the ninth 
century, Photius, who, through intrigues, 



— 35 — 

had become patriarch of Constantinople, 
refused allegiance to the papacy, and, 
supported by the emperors, drew the 
church of the Greek empire, of Asia 
Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, into 
schism. After the twelfth century, the 
Russian empire also became schismatic. 

Q. Were the Greeks ever united again 
with the Church I 

R. Yes, they were united again by 
submitting to Pope Formosus about 900. 
Q. When did they relapse into schism ? 

R. Patriarch Michael Cerularius re- 
belled again and was excommunicated by 
Pope Leo IX. in the eleventh century. 
In 1439, at the general council of Flor- 
ence, the Greek bishops submitted again 
and were received into the Church. But 
a few 3'ears later the schism was renewed. 
Then God gave them into the hands of 
the Turks, who took Constantinople in 
1453 and made the Greek church a slave 
to the Turkish Sultan. 

Q. What does history teach about the 
patriarchs of Constantinople who claimed 
equality with the pope I 

R. The patriarchs have been involved 
in most all the heresies of the first 700 
years, — for instance, Macedonius, Ser- 
gius, Nestorius. The popes on the con- 



— 36 ~ 

trary defended the truth and have never 
failed, because they are the infallible 
successors of St. Peter, to whom Christ 
said: ''Thy faith shall never fail," and 
"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I 
will build my Church." 

Note.— Since the Greek Church has been sepa- 
rated from the center of Catholic unity, it has be- 
come stagnant and barren. Subject to the state, 
with an ignorant, married clergy, it has lang- 
uished within its old confines, has not evangel- 
ized or converted a single nation, nor produced 
an ecclesiastical literature. Like a cut-off branch 
it lies withering, while the parent tree, the 
Catholic Church, grows and spreads over the 
world with undiminished vigor. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Crusades, 

Q. What were the crusades I 

R. The crusades were sacred wars, 
undertaken by the chivalry of Christian 
nations for the deliverance of the Holy 
Land and the Sepulchre of Our Lord 
from Mohammedan oppression. 

The name crusader is derived from the cross 
which the warriors wore on their breasts as a 
sign of their undertaking. 

Q. Xaine the principal crusades. 

R. The First Crusade was preached 
by Peter, the Hermit who had returned 
from the Holy Land. He had wit- 
nessed the desecration of the holy places 
where Our Lord had suffered and died. 
Riding on a donkey through Europe, he 
aroused the Christian people by his fiery 
eloquence. At the great assembly of 
Clermont, under Pope Urban II., princes, 
knights, and people took the cross with 
the enthusiastic cry, "God wills it. 1 ' 
Duke Godfrey of Bouillon led the im- 
mense army, and on July 15, 1099, 
Jerusalem was delivered from the Turks 
and became a Christian kingdom, with 
Godfrey as its king. 

(37) 



— 38 — 

The Second Crusade was under the 
leadership of Emperor Conrad III. of 
Germany, and Louis VII. of France, in 
1147. It was preached by St. Bernard. 

The Third Crusade, in 1189, was led 
by the emperor of Germany, Frederick 
Barbarossa, who gained brilliant victories 
over the immense armies of the Turks, 
but died suddenly at Tarsus while swim- 
ming on his horse through the Kalykad- 
nus river. Philip Augustus, king of 
France, and the chivalrous Richard Lion- 
heart, king of England, continued the 
crusade against the famous Sultan 
Saladin. 

The Fourth Crusade took place in 1203 
under Baldwin of Flanders. It ended 
with the capture of Constantinople and 
the erection of the so-called Latin Em- 
pire on the Balkan Peninsula. 

The Fifth Crusade took place in 1217 
under King Andrew II. of Hungary and 
Duke Leopold of Austria. 

In 1212, thousands of children formed 
an army and went singing and praying 
through Europe for the deliverance of 
the Holy Sepulchre. It was called the 
Children's Crusade. 

The last two crusades were undertaken 
by St. Louis IX., king of France. 



39 



When about to enter upon his last voyage 
(1270), St. Louis stood on the deck of the ship, 
holding in his hand the banner of France, and, 
looking once more towards his country and 
then up to Heaven, he s_iid: "Now I have no 
other kingdom but that of Heaven." He died a 
holy death during the siege of Tunis in Africa. 

Q. What were the results of the crusades ? 

R. 1. The crusades caused a great re- 
vival of religious fervor and Catholic 
unity. 

2. They elevated the standard of Chris- 
tian knighthood. 

3. They advanced knowledge, science, 
and art. 

4. They developed commerce and nav- 
igation. 

5. They improved the condition of the 
lower and middle classes and increased 
the spirit of liberty and public charity. 

Q. What great orders of Christian knights 
were founded in the Middle Ages for the de- 
fense of the Holy Sepulchre ? 

R. 1. Knights of St. John (1099). 
Their military cloaks were black, with a 
large white cross. After the fall of 
Jerusalem, they moved to the Island of 
Rhodes and finally to Malta. Theirs is 
a record of grand faith, heroic bravery, 
and unstained honor. 

2. Knights Templars (1118), so called 



40 



because their fortified convent stood on 
the site of Solomon's Temple. Their 
cloaks were white, with a red cross. 
Their order was abolished in 1311 by 
the council of Vienne at the urgent re- 
quest of King Philip, the Fair, of France. 
3. German Knights (1143). Their 
cloaks were white, with a black cross. 
In 1226 they moved from Palestine to 
Prussia, where they defended the Chris- 
tians against the inroads of the heathens. 

Q. What did these knightly orders do 2 

R. The orders of knights protected 
and defended the pilgrims who came to the 
Holy L,and, and fought the Turks in de- 
fense of the Hoty Sepulchre. 

Q. Did the Turks continue to be a grave 
danger to Europe and Christianity ? 

R. The Turks continued to be a grave 
danger to Europe and Christianity. In 
1453 they took Constantinople and the 
Balkan peninsula, and threatened Europe 
by continual attacks. The Angelus prayer 
was introduced to invoke God's help in 
the wars between the cross and the cres- 
cent. 

Q. In which great battles was the Turkish 
power finally reduced ? 

R. 1. Through the zealous efforts of 
Pope Pius V., a great fleet under Don 



— 41 — 

Juan d' Austria was formed, and it anni- 
hilated the Turkish navy in a miraculous 
manner at L,epanto in 1571. Thus the 
Turkish power, on sea, was broken for- 
ever. 

2. In the year 1683, the Turkish land 
army was completely routed before the 
city of Vienna by Christian forces, com- 
posed of Poles under King Sobiesky, and 
of Germans under Charles of Lorraine. 

3. In the year 1717, Prince Eugene, 
famous as a Christian general in the songs 
of the people, destroyed in the battle of 
Belgrade the Turkish power on land. 

Q. How was the Mohammedan power bro- 
ken in Spain and Portugal 2 

R. From the time of the conquest of 
Spain and Portugal by the Mohammedans 
in the 8th century, the Christian chivalry 
fought them by continual crusades and 
with heroic bravery, until, in the reign of 
Ferdinand and Isabella (1492), the last 
Mohammedan ruler was forced to sur- 
render and left the peninsula. 

Q. To whom principally is due the de- 
struction of the terrible Turkish power I 

R. The destruction of the Turkish 
power is due, mainly, to the popes who 
rallied the Christian nations to the de- 
fense, bore the greatest expense of the 



42 



wars, and obtained divine help, through 
the recital of the Rosary and the Angelus 
in all Christian lands. 

NOTE. — Chivalry or Christian knighthood of 
the middle ages owed all its grandeur to the ele- 
vating influence of the Church. Before her altar 
the candidate for knighthood had to bind himself 
by a solemn vow to defend the faith, the weak, 
and his country. Thus the warlike and indom- 
itable spirit of the barbarian nations, which she 
had converted, was softened and consecrated to 
noble and ideal aims. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Church and State in the Middle 

Ages. 

Q. What great principle ruled the relation 
of Church and State during' the Middle Ages I 

R. The principle that Church and 
State should be in friendly union, both 
independent in their own spheres, but 
protecting and helping each other in 
order to promote the honor and glory of 
God and the eternal and temporal wel- 
fare of the people. 

Q. How was this principle realized ? 

R. 1. The nations, grateful to the 
Church, that had converted and civilized 
them, protected her through their con- 
stitutions in her divine mission. 

2. They used her powerful and willing 
help for promoting order and law, higher 
and elementary education, public works 
of charity, and whatever tended to the 
welfare of the people. 

3. United by the bond of Catholic faith 
and charity, they formed one great 
Christian commonwealth of nations, of 
which the Pope was the spiritual head, 
while the Roman Emperor of the German 
Nation acted as his anointed protector. 

(43; 



_ 44 _ 

Q. Give some prominent examples of this 
relation. 

R. England. King Alfred raised Eng- 
land from ruin and disorder with the 
help of the Church, and throughout the 
Middle Ages the kings of England, with 
few exceptions, followed his example. 
England was called the dowry of Our 
Blessed Lady. 

Scotland. Kings like Malcolm III. and 
his queen St. Margaret, in union with 
the Church, led their country to religious 
and temporal prosperity. 

Ireland. From the time of St. Patrick 
to the disastrous invasion of the Danes 
the princes of Ireland were in closest 
union with the Church and Ireland 
flourished as a free nation, the island of 
Saints, and the cradle of learning for 
Northern Europe. 

The Frankish Empire became the 
greatest and most admired of all nations 
through Charles the Great, the friend 
and anointed protector of the Church. 

Norway under rulers like St. Olaf and 
St. Erich, Sweden under Olaf and 
Magnus, Denmark under Canute, the 
Great, and St. Canute flourished as Chris- 
tian and civilized nations of the North, 
which was formerly the home of savage 
pirates. 



— 45 — 

Poland became one of the greatest 
Christian nations during the Middle 
Ages, and, ever grateful and true to the 
Church for her blessings, was the bulwark 
of Christian civilization in Europe against 
the fierce Turks. 

Spain and Portugal, aided by the 
Church, shook off the Mohammedan 
yoke, grew in strength and wealth, and 
extended their power to America, Africa, 
and Asia. 

France, called the oldest daughter of 
the Church, was, under rulers like St. 
Louis IX, a great Christian nation, the 
cradle of the crusades, and blessed in its 
religious as well as its temporal affairs. 

Hungary. From the time of King St. 
Stephen, it remained in close union with 
the Popes, who favored it as the bulwark 
of Christian Europe against the inroads 
of the heathens. Thus the former home 
of the barbarous Huns had become the 
land of the chivalrous nation, called the 
Kingdom of Mary. 

Germany was a great Catholic empire. 
Its emperors were anointed and crowned 
by the Popes, and its national unity was 
strengthened by the bond of the one 
Catholic faith. 

Switzerland, the ancient free republic, 



46 



found its liberty blessed and safeguarded 
by its union with the Church. 

The republics of Italy, Venice, Genoa, 
Florence, and others, testify by their 
history and the monuments of their 
former greatness, that they prospered in 
their union with the Church. 

Q. How did the people judge of the eccle- 
siastical power and its influence ? 

R. The people loved the influence of 
ecclesiastical power, which defended the 
rights of the governed and the down- 
trodden, checked the excesses of princely 
rulers, and governed its own subjects 
with mildness. Hence the proverb, "It 
is good to live under the crosier.' ' 

Q. Was this union never disturbed I 
Yes; emperors and kings repeatedly 
encroached on the sacred rights of the 
Church, in order to increase their own 
power. 

Q. Name some examples. 

R. 1. Emperor Henry IV. of Germany 
dared to appoint bishops and sold eccle- 
siastical offices; but Pope Gregory VII. 
vigorously defended the rights of the 
Church. Henry had to yield and did 
penance for this sacrilege at Canossa, 
1076. 



— 47 — 

2. Emperor Frederic Barbarossa of 
Germany not only infringed on the 
rights of the Church, but even undertook 
sacrilegiously to enthrone an anti-pope 
and depose Alexander III.; but a terrible 
pestilence broke out and destroyed his 
army. Terrified by this judgment of 
God, he sought and obtained reconcilia- 
tion with the Church. 

3. King Henry II, of England passed 
laws (Articles of Clarendon, 1164,) arro- 
gating rights of the Church to his crown 
(For example, appointment of bishops, 
appeal to Rome, etc.). St. Thomas a 
Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, who 
opposed such proceedings, was assassin- 
ated. But the excommunication of the 
Pope and the indignation of the people 
forced the king to sue for peace. 

4. Philip, the Fair, king of France, 
made similar claims, detrimental to the 
liberty of the Church, which were de- 
veloped by his successors and called 
Gallican liberties. Pope Boniface VIII. 
was insulted and made prisoner by the 
king's minions, but set free by his own 
faithful subjects. The last days of the 
king's life were sad and he died an ob- 
ject of hatred to his people. His three 
sons died in quick succession and the 
royal family of the Capets became extinct. 



— 48 — 

Q. What was understood by the dispute 
about the Right of Investiture ? 

R. It was a dispute between the 
popes and the princes about the right to 
invest the newly elected bishops and 
abbots with ring and crosier. While the 
popes claimed this right on account of 
the spiritual power, which they conferred 
upon these prelates, the princes claimed it 
on account of the temporal power, which 
the prelates received from them as their 
vassals. 

Q. How was this dispute settled ? 

R. This dispute was finally settled 
between Pope Calixtus II. and Henry V., 
emperor of Germany, by the Concordat 
of Worms (1122), so that the pope should 
invest the prelates with ring and crosier 
as emblems of their spiritual power, and 
the emperor should confer the temporal 
power by the imperial sceptre. 

Q. Which was the most dangerous heresy 
of the Middle Ages 2 

R. The heresy of the Albigenses, 
which during the 13th century had 
secretly spread over the countries of 
Europe. They denied the Incarnation 
and Redemption, taught that the world 
had been created by the evil spirit, and 



— 49 — 

held doctrines destructive of marriage 
and of order in Church and State. The 
Church excommunicated them and the 
State punished them as criminals. 

Note. — The Church is God's kingdom ou earth 
with a divinely instituted hierarchy, constitu- 
tion, and laws. Hence she loves order, and this 
also in the State, be it republican or monarchical. 
Where, as in our country, Church and State are 
separate, she is always on the side of the con- 
stitution, law, and order, and teaches her chil- 
dren to cherish and uphold them. 

Worldly power and success, commercial pros- 
perity, development of science and art, rank 
infinitely below the spiritual blessings of divine 
faith and its graces for the salvation of im- 
mortal souls and their eternal happiness. To 
bring the latter to the nations is the great 
mission of the Church of Christ Crucified. If 
temporal blessings have come so richly to the 
nations through their union with the Church, 
they came as Christ has said: "Seek ye first 
the kingdom of God, and all these things shall 
be added unto you." 
4 



CHAPTER X. 

Benefits which the Church be- 
stowed upon the World during 
the Middle Ages. 

Q. What did the Church do for the nations 
in the Middle Ages 1 

R. She bestowed innumerable bless- 
ings upon the nations which had been 
pagan savages, and which became civil- 
ized, Christian peoples through her labors. 

Q. Name some of these blessings. 

R. Under her influence the wise laws 
and constitutions of the people were 
framed (e. g. Magna Charta in England). 
She abolished slavery, founded hospices 
for travelers, hospitals for the sick, or- 
phanages and foundling asylums; she es- 
tablished schools, colleges, and universi- 
ties in all Christian countries and endowed 
them ; she fostered arts and science. 
Architecture flourished in the Roman and 
Gothic styles. In her convents countless 
books were written or copied ; painting, 
sculpture, and music were developed. 

Q. What great religious orders were 
founded during this epoch? 

R. The two great orders of the Fran- 
ciscans and Dominicans were founded in 

(50) 



— 51 — 

the beginning of the thirteenth century, 
and became beacons of holiness and learn- 
ing to the world. 

St. Francis of Assisi, the saint of 
seraphic love, founded the Franciscan 
order, whicii gave to a worldly age the 
great example of evangelical poverty and 
missionary zeal. 

St. Dominic founded the Dominican 
order, which gave to the Church great 
missionaries and theologians. 

St. Robert founded the Cistercian or- 
der, of which St. Bernard, the great ser- 
vant of Mary, became the shining light. 

St. Bruno of Cologne founded the 
Carthusian order, famous for its practice 
of lifelong penance and silence. 

St. Norbert, one of the most holy and 
eloquent men of his time, founded the 
Premonstratensians. 

Berthold, the crusader, built a convent 
on Mt. Carmel in Palestine, and founded 
the order of the Carmelites, which spread 
the devotion of the Scapular of the Blessed 
Virgin over the whole world. 

St. John de Matha founded the order 
of Trinitarians, which delivered innu- 
merable Christians from Mohammedan 
slavery. 



— 52 — 

Q. What monuments are left to testify to 
the work of the Church during the Middle 

Ages? 

R. The great cities, magnificent ca- 
thedrals, convents, universities, countless 
works of art, and especially immense li- 
braries, have been left imposing monu- 
ments of the works of God's Church dur- 
ing the Middle Ages. 

Q. What illustrious and holy doctors flour- 
ished in this age ? 

R. During this age flourished the 
great doctors of the Church, St. Anselm, 
archbishop of Canterbury, St, Bernard, 
St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, 
and many other great teachers of sacred 
learning, called scholastics or schoolmen. 

Q. What great discoveries mark the close 
of the Middle Ages ? 

R. 1. Tlie invention of the art of 
printing by Johann Guttenberg (1450) 
at Strasburg, Germany. The first book 
printed was a L,atin Bible. 

2. The invention of the mariner's com- 
pass by Flavio Gioja in Italy about the 
same time. 

3. The invention of gunpowder by a 
German monk, Berthold Schwarz, at 
Freiburg, about 1370. 



— 53 — 

4. The discovery of the New World by 
Christopher Columbus in 1492. 

5. The revival of the ancient literature 
and arts of Greece and Rome, which, 
after the fall of Constantinople, spread 
over Europe, and were fostered, mainly 
by the Popes. 

Renaissance, Michael Angelo, Raphael, etc. 

6. The revival of the study of ancient 
Roman law, which developed the science 
of law; though some of its principles 
were often abused by princes in the in- 
terest of absolute power. 

Q. What does this show ? 

R. This shows that the Catholic 
Church had educated the once barbarian 
nations to a high degree, and that to her 
belongs the merit of the great discov- 
eries, which changed the world and in- 
troduced the modern age. 

Note. — The nations of Europe had been con- 
verted and civilized, the soil was under cultiva- 
tion, commerce and traffic expanded over land 
and sea, arts and science flourished, higher and 
elementary education were provided for by nu- 
merous universities, colleges, and schools, insti- 
tutions of charity covered the land, the trades 
were protected by guilds, and all men and na- 
tions were united by the one great bond of 
Catholic faith and charity. This was the work 
of the Holy Catholic Church. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The So-called Reformation, or the 
Apostasy of Protestantism. 

Q. Can the Church of God he reformed 2 

R. No; a divine institution like the 
Church, cannot be reformed by men. 
The work of man and the morals of man 
can be reformed, but not the work of 
God. 

Q. What do we call the teachings of men, 
who undertake to change the doctrines of 
God's holy Church 2 

R. We call such teaching "heresy." 
(For instance, heresy of Arianism, or 
Nestorianism.) 

Q. Name some of the men who taught 
heresy in the beginning* of the modern age. 

R. Wy cliff e in England, and John 
Huss in Bohemia, taught private inter- 
pretation of the Bible, denied the divine 
institution of the hierarchy, and pro- 
claimed doctrines destructive of State 
and Church. This heresy was con- 
demned at the council of Constance 1414. 

Q. Which heresies haye become most 
notable 2 

R. The heresy of Martin L,uther in 
Germany, that of Zwingli in Switzer- 

(54) 



— 55 — 

land, of Calvin in Geneva, and that of 
the Anabaptists. 

Q. Who was Martin Luther ? 

R. Luther was born at Eisleben, 
Saxony, of Catholic parents (1483). 
Frightened by the sudden death of his 
friend, he became an Augustinian monk, 
without sufficiently probing his vocation. 
His nature was passionate and soon led 
him into religious errors. When in 
1517 the Dominican monk, John Tetzel, 
preached at Wittenberg the Jubilee in- 
dulgence granted by Pope Leo X., 
Luther challenged him to a debate. Soon 
his heretical views betrayed themselves, 
and, when he refused to submit to the 
authority of the Church, he was excom- 
municated. Then he publicly declared 
his apostasy, broke his vows, and mar- 
ried an eloped nun. 

Q. TVhat were the false doctrines of 
Luther I 

R. 1. In consequence of original sin, 

man has no free will, and is in his nature 

totally depraved. 

2. That therefore all his works are sin. 

3. That faith alone, i. e. the belief that 
Christ saved us, covers all sins and gives 
eternal salvation; that good works there- 
fore are useless. 



— 56 — 

4. Private interpretation of the Bible 
as the sole rule of faith. 

Q. What principal Catholic doctrines did 
Luther reject ? 

R. Luther rejected the authority of 
the pope and bishops, the Holy Sacrifice 
of the Mass, the sacraments of Penance 
and Confirmation, Extreme Unction, Holy 
Orders, and Matrimony; fasting, prayers 
for the dead, invocation of the saints, 
and many other doctrines. 

Q. How did Luther support his false doc- 
trines ? 

R. Rejecting the teaching authority 
of the Church and divine tradition, he 
claimed that the Bible alone contained 
God's word and that his interpretation of 
it was true and infallible. 

Q. What does the Bible say to such a 
principle ? 

R. We read in the Bible that Christ 
says : "He that does not hear the Church 
let him be to thee as a heathen and a 
publican; and St. Paul says: "The 
Church is the pillar and foundation of all 
truth.' ' Hence to discard the teaching 
authority of God's Church, and to place 
private interpretation in its stead, is a 
heresy. 



— 57 — 

Q. Who was Zwingli, and what was his 
teaching ? 

R. Zwingli was a priest in Switzer- 
land, deposed by his bishop for immoral- 
ity. He denied the real presence of 
Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and 
other Catholic doctrines, in a similar 
manner as Luther. 

. Q. Who was John Cabin, and what did he 
teach I 

R. John Calvin was a student at the 
university of Paris who became tainted 
with Luther's heresy. He taught salva- 
tion by faith alone, the total depravation 
of human nature through original sin, 
and absolute predestination, i. e. that 
God had predestined a certain part of 
mankind for heaven and the other for 
hell. John Knox, founder of Presby- 
terianism in Scotland, was his disciple. 

Calvin established himself in Geneva, Switzer- 
land, which became the stronghold of Calvin- 
ism, and where he ruled with tyrannical power 
and intolerance. 

(J. What did the Anabaptists teach ? 

R. The Anabaptists taught that the 
baptism of infants is invalid and there- 
fore rebaptized every one. They an- 
nounced another kingdom of Christ on 
earth, in which neither government, nor 
laws, nor property should exist. 



58 



Q. Who was Henry VIII,, and how did he 
apostatize 1 

R. Henry VIII. was king of England. 
He demanded a divorce from his lawful 
wife, Catherine of Arragon, in order to 
marry a young lady of his court. When 
Pope Clement refused, he fell away and 
forced all England into apostasy. He is 
the founder of the Episcopalians or An- 
glicans. He had in quick succession 
six wives, of whom he beheaded two. 

Q. What were the main causes that led to 
the apostasy of princes and peoples to these 
heresies ? 

R. 1. The doctrine of salvation by 
faith alone without good works was easy 
and pleasant for sensual man; so also 
divorce and the abolition of the religious 
vows. 

2. Princes, city governments, and the 
nobility found through it an opportune 
pretext for robbing the Church of her 
possessions, lands, convents, universities, 
and schools. 

In Germany and England, the prop- 
erty thus stolen amounted to about one- 
fifth of the entire territory. 

3. The governments forced the people 
into their apostasy by establishing the 
principle, that the prince who rules the 



— 59 — 

territory also rules the religion and holds 
supreme power in spiritual things as well 
as in temporal. 

Q. How was Sweden torn away from the 
Church I 

R. Gustav Wasa, who had freed his 
country from the power of Denmark, be- 
came King of Sweden in 1523, and, see- 
ing that by seizing Church property and 
abolishing the hierarchy, he would obtain 
absolute power, he introduced I,utheran- 
ism by force and deceit, and thus de- 
stroyed what the great St. Ansgar had 
founded. 

Q. How was Denmark separated from the 
Church? 

R. Christian II. and Frederic I. intro- 
duced Protestantism into Denmark, Nor- 
way, and Iceland against the will of the 
people. Bishops were beheaded or im- 
prisoned and Church property was con- 
fiscated. 

(J. How did Holland fall away ? 

R. William of Orange led the people 
into rebellion against their King Philip 
II. of Spain, and became the head of the 
Dutch republic in 1578. The Catholic 
religion was forbidden and Calvinism 
adopted as the state religion. 



— 60 — 

Q. What happened in France 2 

R. The heresy of Calvin seduced 
many who were called Huguenots. They 
conspired against the king in order to 
bring one of their party to the throne, 
and waged bloody wars against their 
lawful sovereign. 

Q. Grire some account of St. Bartholo- 
mew's night. 

R. In 1572 King Charles of France 
was informed that the Huguenots had 
conspired against his life. He then com- 
manded that during the night (St. 
Bartholomew's) his soldiers should fall 
upon the Huguenots and kill them. 

i 

Q. Did the Church erer approve of such a 
cruel act 1 

R. No, she always has condemned 
any such acts, which are contrary to 
law, order, and Christian charity. 

Q. What happened in Prussia ? 

R. Prussia was a land, taken from the 
heathens and civilized by German knights 
in the name of the Church. But in 1522 
Albrecht of Brandenburg, who was then 
superior of the order, became a L,utherau, 
broke his vows and married. He then 
made himself prince of the land and intro- 
duced IyUtheranism. 



— 61 — 

Q. TVhat happened in Scotland 1 

R. John Knox preached Calvinism 
there and advised the nobility to join him 
and take the property of the Church. 
They followed his sordid advice and re- 
belled against their Catholic queen, Mary 
Stuart. She fled to England, where she 
was beheaded at the command of her 
treacherous cousin, Queen Elizabeth of 
England, because Mary w r as the legiti- 
mate heir to the English throne. 

(J. .What happened in Ireland ? 

R. Ireland refused to accept Protest- 
antism from England. Cromwell came 
with an English army and devastated 
Ireland with sword and fire. About ten 
million acres of land were confiscated and 
twenty-nine thousand people sold as 
slaves to America. The remaining Catho- 
lics were driven into the poverty-stricken 
province of Connaught with the words: 
"To hell or to Connaught. " 

Up to 1800, England treated Ireland in 
a most tyrannical manner and declared 
through the court: "For Catholics there 
is no law" (that is in the land). Not- 
withstanding all this, Ireland has always 
remained faithful to the Church, and 
finally in 1829 forced England through 



— 62 — 

its great son Daniel O'Connell, to grant 
religious liberty. 

Q. What followed the establishment of 
Protestantism ? 

R. Bloody wars and revolutions. In 
Germany, the 30 years' war between 
Protestants and Catholics was waged, 
through which Germany became a desert 
and its former population of seventeen 
millions was reduced to four millions. 
In France, the four Huguenot wars laid 
waste the land. In England, Mary Queen 
of Scots and King Charles I. were be- 
headed and bloody wars followed each 
other in quick succession. War was 
waged in the Netherlands and in Switzer- 
land. Cities, convents and churches 
were destroyed in countless numbers, 
priests and nuns were massacred, and 
libraries and the finest works of art 
perished. 

Q. What does this show ? 

R. It shows that these new religions 
were not of God; for Christ has said: 
* 'Thereby the world shall know that you 
are my disciples, if you love one another." 

Q. What was the practical result of the 
chief principle of Protestantism, priyate 
judgment ? 

R. The principle of private judgment, 
according to which every one may frame 



— 63 — 

his religion from his own understanding 
of the Bible, resulted in the rise of 
numerous sects. 

Q. Did these sects remain unchanged ? 

R. These sects have continually 
changed and were split and subdivided 
into other sects, so that at the present 
time protestantism is a Babel of con- 
flicting sects. There are about 150 sects 
in the United States. 

Q. Which are the more prominent among 
the later sects ? 

R. The Methodists, founded by John 
Wesley, an Episcopalian preacher, at 
Oxford, England, 1734. 

The Baptists, founded by Roger Wil- 
liams, at Providence, Rhode Island, 1639. 

The Congregationalists, founded by 
Robert Browne in England about 1600. 

The Quakers, founded by George Fox, 
in England, 1647. 

One of the latest sects is the Salvation 
Army, founded by General Booth of Lon- 
don, England. 

NOTE. — That the principle of private judg- 
ment resulted in the rise of so many different 
and conflicting se,cts, proves that it is false. 

Protestantism has destroyed the great Chris- 
tian commonwealth of nations, established dur- 
ing the Middle Ages. It has driven the wedge 



— 64 — 

of religious dissension between the -nations, 
heretofore united by the bond of the same faith, 
between rulers and subjects, even between the 
inhabitants of the same country. 

Having rejected the ancient hierarchy, 
it transferred the ecclesiastical power to the 
princes and made them almost absolute rulers, 
supreme in temporal and spiritual things. 

The sweeping confiscation of church property, 
heretofore devoted to charity and to higher and 
elementary education, retarded for a long time 
educational and social progress, as Luther and 
his friend Melanchton confessed. The bloody 
wars and revolutions, which followed in its 
wake, interrupted the development of science 
and art. 

The large number of contending sects, which 
have sprung and still spring from the Protestant 
doctrine of private judgment, has given to the 
Christian world so sad an aspect of discord and 
contradiction, that not only the minds of many 
in Christian lands are unbalanced by doubt and 
uncertainty, but also the conversion of heathen 
nations has been rendered extremely difficult. 
To the present day,this religious separation and 
antagonism runs like a deep chasm between the 
citizens of the same country and sorely affects 
the equality of legislation, individual rights, 
and national unity. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Council of Trent 1545—1563 and 
its Results. 

Q. What did the Church do to counteract 
the spread of Protestantism I 

R. Pope Paul III. convened a general 
council at Trent, in Tyrol, in order to 
condemn these false doctrines and to es- 
tablish practicable rules for the promotion 
of faith and morals. 

Q. Did the council hare good results 2 
R. Yes, the Council of Trent was so 
blessed in its work that since then a new 
life of sanctity, learning, and zeal has 
pervaded the Church. Great popes and 
bishops like St. Pius V. and St. Charles 
Borromeo arose, and many new religious 
orders were established to promote Chris- 
tian education and charity. 

Q. Xaine some of these newly established 
orders. 

R. 1. The Society of Jesus, which 
was founded in the year 1540 by St. Ig- 
natius, formerly a Spanish knight. It 
gave to the Church a large number of 
men, illustrious for their sanctity and pro- 
found learning. It stemmed the flood of 
Protestant heresy in Europe, founded an 
5 «*) 



— 66 — 

admirable system of higher education, 
and sent out numerous missionaries to 
pagan countries. 

2. The order of Capuchins (1528), 
which had for its aim the practice of se- 
vere penance and poverty and missionary 
labors for the salvation of souls. 

3. The congregation of the Oratorians, 
which was founded by the famous St. 
Philip of Neri, the apostle of Rome. 

4. The congregation of St. Maurus, a 
branch of the great Benedictine Order, 
which devoted itself to ecclesiastical 
studies, and produced great authors, 
like Mabillon, Montfaucon, Ruinart, and 
others. 

6. The order of the discalceated Car- 
melites, established by the two seraphic 
saints of Spain, St. Teresa and St. John 
of the Cross. 

6. The congregation of the Passionists, 
founded by St. Paul of the Cross, de- 
voted to the practice of penance, and to 
missionary work. 

7. The congregation of the Lazarists, 
or priests of the missions, and that of the 
Sisters of Charity. Both were founded 
by St. Vincent de Paul, the immortal 
hero of charity, who exhausted his life 
in continual works of spiritual and cor- 
poral mercy. 



67 



8. The congregation of the Redemp- 
torists, which was founded by St. Al- 
phonsus Liguori, and became a great 
missionary order. 

9. The following religious orders were 
founded to further the cause of Christian 
education: The Christian Brothers of the 
Schools, by John Baptiste de L,a Salle; 
the Piarists, by Joseph Calasanctius; the 
Sisters of the Visitation, by St. Francis 
de Sales, bishop of Geneva, and St. Fran- 
ces Chantal; the Ursuline Sisters, by St. 
Angela de Merici; the Sisters of Notre 
Dame, by St. Peter Fourier; the Sisters 
of Providence; and many others. 

Q. What other great consolation did God 
give to His Church daring these times ? 

R. A wonderful and numerous array 
of Saints appeared during these times and 
consoled with the lustre of their holy 
lives the Church, the Spouse of Christ, 
who had been robbed of so many chil- 
dren and despoiled of her possessions by 
the apostasy of the sixteenth century. 

Q. Name some of the prominent Saints. 

R. St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose 
motto was: "All for the greater honor 
and glory of God;" 

St. Francis Borgia, formerly grandee 
of Spain, who left the world and its van- 
ity, to enter the convent; 



68 



St. Francis Xavier, the great wonder- 
worker, who, after a life of incessant 
apostolic labors, died a solitary death on 
the Island Sancian, looking toward 
China, which he had longed to convert; 

St. Aloysius and St. Stanislaus, youths 
of angelic chastity; 

St. Charles Borromeo, archbishop of 
Milan, the hero of charity, who gave his 
large inheritance to the poor, lived in 
voluntary poverty, and, during the great 
pestilence, became the father of the af- 
flicted and the dying; 

St. Philip Neri, burning with the love 
of God and with charity for suffering 
mankind; 

St. Francis de Sales, bishop of Geneva, 
the saint of meekness; 

St. Vincent de Paul, the apostle of 
mercy, who sold himself into slavery for 
the deliverance of others; 

St. Teresa, a virgin of seraphic sanctity 
and wisdom, whose waitings the Church 
has designated as heavenly; 

St. John of the Cross, and St. John of 
God, her countrymen; 

St. Alphonsus L,iguori, the saint of the 
confessional; 

In our own hemisphere, many martyrs 
in the Indian missions of North America; 
St. Rosa of Lima, in Peru; St, Francis 



69 



Solanus, called the apostle of Peru; St. 
Louis Bertrand, who converted 150,000 
Indians in New Granada; St. Peter 
Claver, apostle of the negroes. 

Q. Hoiv did God replace the losses which 
the Church suffered through the apostasy of 
the sixteenth century I 

R. God raised up zealous missionaries 
who went to heathen lands and converted 
millions to the faith. 

Q. Name some of these missionaries. 

R. St. Francis Xavier, of the Society 
of Jesus, went to India and Japan, con- 
verted nations and kingdoms, and 
wrought many miracles. This work was 
successfully continued by other Jesuits, 
and the faith of the converts was so sin- 
cere and firm, that in the persecution of 
Japan more than a million suffered mar- 
tyrdom with heroic fortitude. 

In China, the Jesuits Ricci, Schall, and 
their associates, obtained by their holi- 
ness and learning official recognition of 
the Catholic religion from the emperor, 
and erected a large number of churches. 

In Mexico, where every year 20,000 
human victims were sacrificed on the 
altars of the false gods, Franciscan 
Fathers from Spain established the faith 
and brought peace and civilization to the 
poor Indians. 



_ 70 — 

Franciscan Fathers became the pio- 
neers of the cross also in New Mexico 
and California (Father Junipero). 

In North America, Jesuits (Breboeuf, 
Jogues, Marquette, and others) labored 
among the savage Indian tribes, and 
many of them won the crown of martyr- 
dom. 

In South America, the Jesuits con- 
verted the barbarian population of Para- 
guay and changed the wilderness into a 
prosperous country. 

All over South America, Central 
America, and in the newly discovered 
regions of Africa, Franciscan, Dominican, 
and Jesuit missionaries evangelized the 
heathen inhabitants. 

NOTE. — The apostasy in the sixteenth century, 
with the ensuing revolutions and wars, caused 
such a decline of religion and morality in the 
countries afflicted by it, that even I^uther had 
to confess: "Under the Pope's rule, the people 
were mild and generous ; but, under the new 
gospel, nobody will give, but the one cheats the 
other; and, the longer the gospel is preached, 
the more the people are sinking into avarice 
pride, and luxury. Verily, the devil has got 
twice into them." Meanwhile, the Church of 
God, which the blasphemous apostate monk had 
pretended to reform, arose from the fire of afflic- 
tion in renewed vigor, and stood forth as the 
immaculate Spouse of Christ, exalted by the 
sanctity, learning, and zeal of her children. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Eighteenth Century. 

Q. W&at was the Anal outcome of the 
Protestant heresy I 

R. After setting aside the authority 
of God's Church, and making each indi- 
vidual the interpreter of his own Bible 
and the framer of his own religion, men 
advanced from den}dng certain doctrines 
of Christianity to the denial of all re- 
vealed religion, and thus ended in infi- 
delity. 

Q. What did they call themselves ? 

They called themselves "Free- think- 
ers," i. £., men, who recognize no Divine 
authority in matters of religion, — 

Or "Rationalists," i. e. y men, who form 
their religious ideas from weak human 
reason and nature alone. 

Q. Where did free-thought originate ? 

R. Free-thought originated in Protes- 
tant England and spread to Holland, 
France, Germany, and the United States. 

Q. Who hecame its most notorious pro- 
moters ? 

R. The so-called Encyclopedists of 
France, a society of free-thinkers, who 
were filled with satanic hatred against 

(71) 



72 



Christ and his Church and had sworn to 
destroy it. Voltaire was their leader. 
After a life of unspeakable immorality 
and blasphemy he died in despair. 

Q. What sect adopted free -thought as its 
doctrine ? 

Freemasonry, which was founded in 
London on the 24th of July, 1717, adopted 
free-thought as its fundamental doctrine. 
Bound by oaths of secrecy, it spread 
quietly but swiftly through the world, 
and everywhere opposed the Church of 
God. 

Pope Clement XII. put the censure of excom- 
munication on Freemasonry, and all succeed- 
ing popes renewed it. 

Q. Did the rulers and governments oppose 
free -thought and Freemasonry ? 

R. Many of the rulers and govern- 
ments of Christian countries became not 
only infected, but also upheld and fos- 
tered them among their people. 

Q. What false doctrines about the relation 
of Church and State added to the dangers of 

the age ? 

R. The doctrines of Gallicanism and 
Josephinism, which arrogated to the 
princes undue power over ecclesiastical 
affairs and tended to reduce the Church 
to the condition of a mere servant of the 
state. 



73 



Q. Which Catholic countries became in- 
fested with these doctrines ? 

R. These false doctrines were put into 
execution by Joseph II., emperor of 
Austria, and other German princes. 
(Josephinism). 

The government of Portugal, and the 
kings of the Bourbon family who ruled 
in France, Spain, and ill several of the 
Italian states, combined for the same 
purpose. (Gallicanism). 

Q. To what unfortunate measure did they 
force the Pope ? 

R. In the year 1772, they forced Pope 
Clement XIV t to decree the abolition of 
the Jesuit Order, which had been one of 
the strongest bulwarks of the Church 
and the rights of the Papacy since the 
so-called reformation. 

Q. What was the aim of these Catholic 
rulers in their hostility to the Church ? 

R. Like the Protestant princes who 
had become supreme in spiritual things 
as well as in temporal and thus obtained 
absolute power over their people, the 
Catholic princes now also sought abso- 
lute power to the detriment of religious 
liberty. 



- 74 — 

Q. What were the consequences of these 
destructive measures ? 

R. 1. The absolute power of princes 
severely curtailed the people's rights. 

2. Unprincipled free-thought set loose 
the spirit of rebellion and anarchy. 

3. The Church, shackled by unjust 
state laws, was unable to protect the 
people against their oppressors, as she 
did in the Middle Ages; nor could she 
guard their just struggles for liberty 
against the excesses of anarchy. 

Q. What was the final result ? 

R. The fearful French revolution 
broke out in 1789 and filled France with 
bloodshed and Europe with horror. 

Q. To what excesses did free-thought lead 
men in this revolution ? 

R. 1. They declared publicly in their 
assembly at Paris, that France had ceased 
to acknowledge God, and then brought a 
bad woman in solemn procession to the 
church, where they placed her on the 
altar and worshipped her as goddess of 
reason. 

2. They established the guillotine, and, 
after having beheaded their King, Louis 
XVI. and his wife, Queen Mary Antoi- 
nette, they sent daily about two hundred 
victims of all classes and sexes to the 



— 75 — 

guillotine. Two millions of innocent 
French people perished within a few 
years in the name of reason and liberty. 

Q. Who were the leaders of this fearful 
terrorism ? 

R. Robespierre, Marat, and Danton 

were the leaders in this reign of terror. 

Q. How did the revolution end ? 

R. Trembling for their own lives, 
Robespierre and his party announced 
that the French nation should believe 
again in God and in the immortality of 
the soul. But they also fell victims to 
the guillotine as they had deserved. 

Q. Who put an end to the revolution ? 

R. Napoleon Bonaparte, who became 
emperor of the French nation, put an 
end to the revolution. 

Q. What measures did he take in order to 
give stability to his government ? 

R. Knowing that without God and 
religion no nation can prosper, he made 
peace with the Church and gave religious 
freedom. 

Q. Did he persevere in his obedience to 
the Church ? 

R. Blinded by his worldly success, he 
dared to attack the Pope, Pius VII., and 
had him brought as prisoner to France. 



76 



Q. How did God punish this sacrilege ? 

R. On the snowfields of Russia, Napo- 
leon's immense army, which had con- 
quered Europe, was destroyed by the 
elements, and of a million soldiers only 
about fifty thousand returned. Napoleon 
died a prisoner on the Island of St. 
Helena, but Pope Pius VII. returned tri- 
umphantly to Rome. 

Note. — Twenty years of bloody wars followed 
the outbreak of the French revolution and swept 
with destructive fury over the countries of Eu- 
rope. Finally, when, after a three days' battle at 
Leipsic, the power of Napoleon had been over- 
thrown and the allied rulers of Europe met on 
the blood-stained battlefield, they recognized in 
fear and trembling the judgment of God over 
the infidelity of the eighteenth century, and, 
kneeling down, they pledged themselves sol- 
emnly: "We and our people will serve the 
Lord." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Nineteenth Century. 

Q. What great task awaited the action of 
the Church at the beginning* of this century 1 

R. The great task of reorganizing 
church affairs in those countries where 
the destructive teachings of the eight- 
eenth century and the ravages of the 
revolution had spread. 

Q. In what respects had the Church suf- 
fered most I 

R. 1. Communications between Rome 
and the bishops of the different countries 
had been either severed or hampered by 
unjust laws. 

2. Episcopal sees had been abolished 
or kept vacant by the governments. 

3. Religious orders had been suppressed 
and their property confiscated. 

4. The losses in property and funds, 

which the Church suffered through the 

so-called secularization, were enormous 

and left her almost destitute. 

Q. Name the Popes who engaged in this 
work. 

Popes Pius VII., Leo XII., Pius VIII., 
Gregory XVI., and Pius IX., who con- 
cluded concordats or agreements with 
the different governments, whereby the 

(77) 



— 78 — 

relations between Church and State were 
peaceably settled. 

While the Church always observed conscien- 
tiously the rules of these concordats, different 
states, such as France, Spain, Portugal, and 
others, broke them whenever it was to their 
advantage. 

Q. What Pope had the longest and most 
eventful pontificate in this century ? 

R. Pope Pius IX., who ruled in the 
see of St. Peter for thirty-two years. 

1 . In his encyclicals and in the famous 
syllabus, he exposed and condemned the 
false doctrines of Gallicanism and Liberal- 
ism. 

2. In the year 1854, he solemnly de- 
clared the dogma of the Immaculate 
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

3. In the year 1869, he convened the 
great Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, 
in which the dogma of the Infallibility of 
the Pope in the solemn decisions on mat- 
ters of faith and morals was declared 

Q. What illustrious Pope succeeded Pius 
IX? 

Pope Leo XIII. succeeded Pope Pius 
IX. on the 20th of February, 1878, and 
has governed the Church w T ith wisdom, 
meekness, and energy to the end of this 
century. 



79 



Q. How (lid Divine Providence aid these 
efforts of the Pontiffs for the Church 2 

R. Divine Providence raised up in all 
countries large numbers of great and 
holy men and women, who labored with 
wonderful success in the interests of re- 
ligious liberty and piety, Christian science 
and education, of charity and social 
progress. 

Montalembert, L,acordaire, Ozanam, and 
others in France; Overberg, Witmann, Goerres, 
Ketteler, Windthorst, and others in Germany; 
Daniel O'Connell, Father Matthew, Archbishop 
McHale, and others in Ireland; Cardinals Wise- 
man, Newman, Manning, and others in Eng- 
land; Donoso- Cortes, Balmes, and others in 
Spain; Sterks, De Ram, Dechamps, and others 
in Belgium; Lachat, Greith, Mermillod, and 
others in Switzerland; and in the United States, 
Bishops Cheverus, Carroll, Neuman, England, 
Hughes, Spalding, and others, and laymen like 
Orestes Brownson, the First Sister of Charity, 
Mrs. Seton, and others. 

Q. What about the religious orders in this 
century ] 

R. The Society of Jesus was solemnly 

re-established by Pope Pius VIL (1814), 

and soon grew to large dimensions. The 

old religious orders, which had been 

despoiled and persecuted toward the end 

of the last and at the beginning of this 

century, arose with renewed vigor and 

have greatly increased in numbers and 

influence. A very great number of new 



80 



religious orders and congregations, work- 
ing mainly in the cause of Christian 
education and charity, have sprung up 
and spread over the old and the new 
world. 

Q. How does the Church prosper in the 
different parts of the world ? 

R. 1. In the United States of North 
America, the growth of the Church has 
been surprising. In 1789 there was but 
one bishop, John Carroll of Baltimore, 
and 100,000 Catholics, and at the end of 
this century there are ten million Catho- 
lics, one cardinal, fourteen archbishops, 
and seventy-three bishops. Three great 
national councils have been held in Balti- 
more, and churches, schools, and convents 
cover the land. 

Canada, which had in 1817 but one 
bishop, has at present seven archbishops 
and twenty-four bishops. 

2. In Australia, the English govern- 
ment had forbidden Catholic worship 
with great intolerance up to the year 
1820; since then Catholic priests were 
admitted and there are now 600,000 
Catholics in a total population of three 
millions. 

3. In Asia, Catholic missions are ex- 
panding continually, in spite of repeated, 
bloody persecutions. 



— 81 — 

4. In Africa, new missionary fields 
have been opened by the explorers, and 
are now being evangelized by numerous 
zealous priests. 

5. In Europe, the Church is making 
great progress, especially in those coun- 
tries that were formerly exclusively 
Protestant, such as England, Scotland, 
Holland, Denmark, and Scandinavia. 

Q. Has the Church passed through perse- 
cutions in this century also I 

R. Yes; she has passed through many 

and violent persecutions: 

1. In 1870, the Italian government 
seized by force the Papal States, and 
made the Holy Father virtually a pris- 
oner in the Vatican. 

2. In Germany, a violent persecution 
broke out in 1873 (May laws), but the 
Catholics, faithful to their bishops and 
priests, bore it with patient fortitude and 
by united political efforts forced the gov- 
ernment to desist. 

3. Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Swit- 
zerland, and some of the South American 
republics, also had periods of persecution. 

i\. How did these persecutions affect the 
Catholic people ? 

R. These persecutions have increased 
the faith and energy of the Catholic people. 
G 



— 82 — 

Everywhere they defend fearlessly the 
rights of the Church; piety and religious 
vocations are on the increase; charitable 
and educational institutions multiply; 
sacred and secular science are eagerly 
cultivated; bishops, priests, and people 
are united in loyal submission to the 
Holy See. 

Q, What has been the numeric develop- 
ment of the Church from the day of Pentecost 
to the present time ? 

R. On the day of Pentecost, when the 
twelve Apostles w 7 ent forth from the 
Coenaculum to preach the Gospel, the 
Church numbered but a few hundred 
members within the walls of Jerusalem. 
To-day, after a lapse of 1800 years, she 
has expanded and is still expanding in 
ever-widening circles over the whole 
earth, and counts three hundred millions 
of children among all races, nations, and 
tribes of the world. 

Thus the prophetic parable of our Lord, in 
which He compares His Church to a grain of 
mustard-seed, is being daily fulfilled. 

Q. What dangers threaten Christendom 
at the present time ? 

R. 1. The spirit of infidelity, which 
is fostered by godless education, a licen- 
tious press, and secret societies. 



— 83 — 

2. The spirit of anarchy, which threa- 
tens authority, law, and order. 

3. The spirit of liberalism, which pre- 
tends to reconcile Catholic truth with 
the false doctrines of modern thought. 

4. The spirit of socialism and commun- 
ism, which attempts to destroy the family 
and the rights of property. 

Q. What alone can save the world from 
such dangers ? 

R. The return of the world to the 
teachings and graces which Jesus Christ 
entrusted to His Church. This alone can 
save the world from the grave dangers 
w T hich threaten the very existence of hu- 
man society. 

Q. What is the future of the Church at the 
end of the 19th century ] 

R. The future of the Church will be 
like the past. 

She will pass on through time, blessing 
the world with God's truth and grace. 

She will suffer persecution for justice' 
sake, like Him who founded her. 

She can never perish, because she is 
the work of God, and the Holy Ghost 
dwells in her till the end of time. 

In short she will be the Church mili- 
tant on earth, and, finally, the Church 
triumphant forever in heaven, 



— 84 — 

Note. — Eighteen hundred years have passed 
since Christ built His Church upon the rock of St. 
Peter. The persecutions of hostile state power, 
the slanders of lying heresy, the sneering of 
infidel philosophers, the treason of some of 
her own children, have combined against her 
from century to century, but she stands forever 
in serene majesty on the rock where her Divine 
Master has placed her, while the angry waves 
of human passions and hell's undying hatred 
beat against it. She blesses the world, prays 
for her enemies, and guides her children to 
Heaven. She fears not, for she is ever con- 
scious of the Divine promise : ''Thou art Peter, 
and upon this rock I will build my Church, and 
the powers of hell shall not prevail against her. ' ' 

May we always love her, the benign mother 
of our souls, and cling to her with unshaken 
faith, whatever storms the dark powers of hell 
and the pride of the world may raise against 
her, and in her afflictions show her even greater 
love, as Mary and the chosen friends showed to 
Our I,ord under the cross. Let us remember 
the beautiful words in which the English poet 
Dry den has described her : 

"A milk-white hind, immortal and unchanged, 
Fed on the lawns and in the forest ranged ; 
"Without unspotted, innocent within, — 
She feared no danger for she knew no sin. 
Yet oft was she pursued . . . was often forced to fly 
And doomed to death, but fated not to die." 



List of the Popes. 

(According to the Gerarchia Cattolica, official edition, 
Dec. 23, 1898, Rome.) 



Jesus Christ, the Son of God 

aud Founder of the Church, said to 
Simon : "Thou art Peter (a rock), and 
upon this rock I will build my Church, 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. And I will give to thee the 
keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And 
whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, 
it shall be bound also in Heaven, and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, 
it shall be loosed also in Heaven." 
St. Matt, xvi, 18, 19. "Feed my lambs, 
feed my sheep." St. John xxi, 15-17. 
In virtue of this divine appointment 

St. Peter 33-67 

became after the Ascension of Christ the 
head of the Church, The First Pope. He 
established his See in Rome, then the 
capital of the known world, about the 
year 42. The first council, held in Jeru- 
salem, was presided over by him. He 
died the death of martyrdom in the per- 
secution of Nero. (67.) 

(85) 



— 86 — 

2. St. Linus 67-78 

born at Vollatera, Italy, is mentioned by 
St. Paul in the second letter to Timothy, 
and succeeded St. Peter in the year 67. 

3. St. Cletus 78-90 

Rome, Martyr. 

4. St. Clement I. 90-100 

Rome, Martyr. He is mentioned by St. 
Paul in his letter to the Philippians (I, 4). 
He has left us a letter to the Corinth- 
ians, full of pastoral wisdom, and is num- 
bered among the apostolic Fathers. 

Note. — The list of the Popes of the first and 
second centuries has been left to us by St. Ire- 
naeus, bishop of Lyons, who wrote about the 
year 200. He says: " With the Church of Rome 
all churches must agree on account of her 
higher rank." (Adv. haereses 3, 3 .) 

Century II. — 11 Popes. 

5. St. Anacletus 100-112 

Athens, Greece, Martyr, decreed that at 
the consecration of a bishop at least 
three bishops should assist. 

6. St. Evaristus 112-121 

Bethlehem, Martyr, prescribed that mat- 
rimony should receive the solemn bene- 
diction of the priest. 



— 87 — 

7. St Alexander I. 121-132 

Rome, Martyr, insisted on the use of 
holy water in the churches and houses. 

8. St. Sixties I. 132-142 

Rome, Martyr. To him is inscribed the 
insertion of the threefold Sanctus into 
the Mass. 

9. St. Telesphorus U2-15J+ 

Greece, Martyr. Confirmed the lenten 
fast and inserted the Gloria into the 
Mass. 

10. St. Hyginus 154-158 

Athens, Martyr. Instituted Subdeacon- 
ship and Minor Orders. 

11. St. Pius I. 158-167 

Aquileja, Italy, Martyr, insisted that 
Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday. 

12. St. Anicetus 167-175 

Syria, Martyr. St. Polycarp, bishop of 
Smyrna in Asia Minor and disciple of 
St. John, came to Rome in order to con- 
fer with him about the time of the cele- 
bration of Easter. 

18. St. Soterus 175-182 

Italy, Martyr. 



— 88 — 

U. St. Eleutherius ...182-193 

Greece, Martyr. He sent priests to 
Britain at the request of King Lucius. 

15. St. Victor I. 193-208 

Africa, Martyr. He convened a council 
in Rome, in order to settle the dispute of 
the bishops of Asia Minor about the 
celebration of Easter. 

Ckntury III. — 15 Popes. 

16. St. Zephyr inus 203-220 

Rome, Martyr, forbade metropolitans to 
pass sentence on their suffragan bishops 
without the consent of the Holy See. 

17. St. Calixtus I. 221-221 

Rome, Martyr. One of the largest cata- 
combs of Rome bears his name. The 
Church has always held his memory in 
great esteem on account of his successful 
combats against the heresies of his age. 

18. St. Urban I. 227-233 

Rome, Martyr. In his reign St. Cecilia 
suffered martyrdom and left her large 
property to the Church. 

19. St. Pontian 233-238 

Rome, Martyr. 



— 89 — 

20. St. Anterus 238-239 

Greece, Martyr, ordered the collection 
of the acts of the martyrs. 

21. St. Fabian 240-253 

Rome, Martyr. The historian Eusebius 
relates that the choice fell on him, be- 
cause a dove had perched on his head at 
the election. 

22. St. Cornelius 254-255 

Rome, Martyr. In his reign the clergy 
of Rome numbered 200 and the faithful 
50,000. He convened a council in which 
Novatian, a schismatic and anti-pope, was 
excommunicated. 

23. St. Lucius I. 255-257 

Rome, Martyr. 

24. St. Stephanus I. 257-260 

Rome, Martyr. He upheld against St. 
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, the ancient 
custom of the Church, not to rebaptize 
persons who had been baptized in due 
form by heretics. 

25. St. Sixtus II. 260-261 

Greece, Martyr. The famous martyr- 
dom of St. Lawrence took place three 
days after his, according to his prediction. 



— 90 — 

26. St. Dionysius 261-272 

Italy. 

27. St. Felix I. 272-275 

Rome, Martyr. Prescribed the rite for 
the dedication of churches. In his letter 
to the bishop of Alexandria, he stated 
the teaching of the Church on the Bl. 
Trinity so clearly that the Council of 
Ephesus (431) quoted from it. 

28. St. Eutychian 275-283 

Tuscany, Martyr. He forbade holy com- 
munion to drunkards, until they had re- 
formed, but ordered wine to to be blessed 
on the altar in condemnation of the 
Manichean heresy. 

29. St. Caius ...283-296 

Dalmatia, Martyr. 

30. St. Marcellinus 296-304 

Rome, Martyr. 

Century IV. — 11 Popes. 

31. St. Marcellus I. 304-309 

Rome, Martyr, insisted that councils 
need the approbation of the Holy See. 

32. St. Eusebius 309-311 

Southern Italy. 



— 91 — 

88. St. Melchiades 311-314 

Africa. The last of the Popes buried 
in the catacombs. With the conversion 
of Emperor Constantine the era of per- 
secutions ceased. For two hundred 
years, from St. Peter to St. Marcellus, 
the Popes had died the death of martyr- 
dom for the fundamental truth of Christi- 
anity, that Christ is the Son of God. 

Now the Church comes forth from the 
catacombs and the spiritual supremacy 
of the Popes over the w 7 hole Christian 
world appears plainly as an acknowl- 
edged fact. 
84. St. Sylvester I. 314-337 

Rome. Prescribed that the altars be of 
stone and covered with linen. His legates 
presided over the General Council ot 
Nice (325), in which Arianism was con- 
demned. 

35. St. Mark 337-340 

Rome. The first Pope who conferred the 
pallium. 

86. St. Julius I. 341-352 

Rome, decreed the celebration of Christ- 
mas on the 25th of December for the 
whole Church. St. Athanasius, bishop 
of Alexandria, appealed to him and was 
upheld by him against the Arian bishops. 



— 92 — 

37. St. Liberius . 352-866 

Rome. He wrote to the Arian emperor: 
"Do not interfere in Church affairs and 
give not precepts, but rather learn them 
from us. ' ' He bore his exile with for- 
titude and returned an unconquered de- 
fender of the faith. 

38. St. Felix II. 

Rome. During the exile of Pope Iyiberius. 

39. St. Damasus I... 366-384 

Spain. In his reign the Second General 
Council (at Constantinople) was held 
against Macedonius (381). Emperor 
Theodosius suppressed by his famous 
decree the last remnants of paganism. 
At the command of Damasus, St. Jerome 
edited the translation of the Bible, called 
the Vulgate. 

40. St. Siricius 384-398 

Rome, held several councils for the sup- 
pression of heresies. 

41. St. Anastasius I. 398-402 

Rome, censured the errors of Origenes. 

Century V. — 12 Popes. 

42. St. Innocent I 402-417 

Italy. The bishops of northern Africa 
sent the acts of their council, in which 



— 93 — 

the heresy of Pelagius was condemned, 
to hiin. He approved them and excom- 
municated Pelagius. Then St. Augustine 
wrote: "The acts have been sent to the 
Holy See and the answer has arrived. 
The case is finished ; let the heresy now 
have an end." 

43. St. Zozimus 417-418 

Greece. Permitted the blessing of the 
Easter-candle in all parish churches. 

44. St. Boniface I. 418-423 

Rome, admonished the bishops of France 
to obtain for their councils the confirma- 
tion of the Holy See. 

45. St. Celestine I. 423-432 

Campagna, Italy. In his reign St. Patrick 
converted Ireland. He sent St. Palladius 
from Rome to Scotland as its first bishop. 
He convened the III. General Council at 
Ephesus (431), in which the heresy of 
Xestorius was condemned. When his 
letter to the Council was read, the 
Fathers answered: "This synod thanks 
Celestine, the new Paul, the guardian 
of the faith." 

46. Si. Sixties III. 432-440 

Rome. 



— 94 — 

47. St. Leo I .;. 440-461 

the Great, Rome. He saved Rome from 
the disastrous invasion of the barbarian 
Huns. The IV. General Council, which 
condemned the heresy of Eutyches, was 
convened at Chalcedon (451). When his 
letter to the Council had been read, the 
Fathers cried out as with one voice : 
"This is the true faith; St. Peter has 
spoken through the mouth of L,eo." 

48. St. Hilary 461-468 

Sardinia. From him dates the beginning 
of the great Vatican Library. 

49. St. Simplicius 468-483 

Italy. 

50. St. Felix III 483-492 

Rome. 

51. St. Gelasius I. 492-496 

Rome. He held a council in Rome, by 
which the canon of the Holy Scriptures 
was decreed and a large number of apoc- 
ryphal books was rejected. He intro- 
duced the feast of the Purification of the 
Blessed Virgin. 

52. St. Anastasius II. 496-498 

Rome. Conversion of Clovis, king of 
the Franks. 



— 95 — 

53. St. Symmachus 498-514 

Rome, protected the Church in troubled 
times against schism and heresy, and 
supported 225 bishops, exiled during the 
persecution, in Africa. 

Century VI.— 13 Popes. 

54. St. Hormisdas 514-528 

Frosinone, Italy. He upheld the decrees 
of the Council of Chalcedon against the 
violence of Emperor Anastasius. 

55. St. John I. 523-526 

Tuscany, Martyr, The Arian Theodoric, 
king of the Visigoths, commenced a per- 
secution, during which the holy Pope 
died in prison and the famous Christian 
philosopher Boethius was beheaded. 

56. St. Felix IV. 526-530 

Benevent, Italy. 

57. Bojiiface II. 530-532 

Rome. Under him the learned Dionysius 
Exiguus introduced the counting of the 
Christian era, commencing with the birth 
of Christ. 

58. John II. 532-535 

Rome. Emperor Justinian of Constan- 
tinople addressed him in his letter as the 
head of all churches. 



— 96 — 

59. St. Agapitus 535-536 

Rome. 

60. St. Silverius 536-537 

Italy, Martyr. Died in exile, whither 
the emperor had sent him at the instiga- 
tion of the monophysites. The bishops 
of Patara defended him before the em- 
peror, and said: "Remember, there are 
many kings on earth, but only one Pope 
over all the churches of the world." 

61. Vigilius 537-555 

Rome. Under him the V. General Coun- 
cil was convened at Constantinople and 
the famous dispute about the so-called 
Three Chapters settled (553). 

62. Pelagius I. 555-560 

Rome. 

63. John III, .....560-573 

Rome. 

64. Benedict I 574-578 

Rome, in a period of war and famine a 
benefactor of Italy. 

65. Pelagius II. 578-590 

Rome. Italy was visited by a fearful 
pestilence during which the Pope turned 
his house into a hospital and died a 
victim of his self sacrificing charity. 



— 97 — 

66. St. Gregory I. 590-604 

the Great. One of the greatest Fathers 
and Doctors of the Church. He sent 
St. Augustine with 40 Benedictine monks 
to convert England. He reformed the 
plain chant, and developed a wonderful 
activity in establishing ecclesiastical dis- 
cipline and order in all parts of the 
world. Though the head of the Church, 
he styled himself "the servant of the 
servants of God." 

Century VII.— 20 Popes. 

67. Sabinian 604-606 

Italy. Introduction of bells. 

68. Boniface III. 607 

Rome. 

69. Si. Boniface IV. , 608-615 

Southern Italy. Dedicated the ancient 
Pantheon, or temple of all pagan gods, 
to the Blessed Virgin. Institution of 
All-Saints day. 

70. St. Adeodatus 1 615-619 

Rome, displayed heroic charity during a 
fearful pestilence. 

71. Boniface V 619-625 

Italy, took the young church of England 
under his special care. 

7 



— 98 — 

72. Honorius 1 625-638 

Italy. He has been censured for having 
been remiss in condemning the heresy of 
the Monothelites. But this remissness 
was caused by the deceiving letter of 
Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, 
their leader. 

73. Severinus .640 

Rome. 

74. John IV. 640-642 

Dalmatia, expended the treasures of the 
Church to redeem captive Christians. 

75. Theodore 1 642-649 

Greece. 86 African bishops sent to him 
a synodal letter, in which they had 
written : " Since the earliest age it has 
been law, that decrees, formed in the 
most distant provinces, receive their 
legal force only through the confirming 
authority of the Roman See." 

76. St. Martin I. 649-655 

Italy, Martyr. For having condemned 
the heresy of the Monothelites, he was 
dragged a prisoner to Constantinople 
and sent into exile, where he died a 
martyr to the Faith. 

77. St. Eugene I. 655-656 

Rome. 



— 99 — 

78. St. Vitalian 657-672 

Italy. Sent the learned monk Theodore 
to England, as archbishop of Canterbury 
with jurisdiction over all England. 

Introduction of organs into the 
churches of Italy. 

79. Adeodatus II 672-676 

Rome. 

80. Bonus 1 676-678 

Rome. 

81. St. Agatho 678-682 

Greece. In his letter to the VI. General 
Council (at Constantinople, 681) he says: 
"It is a fact, that this See (Rome) 
through the grace of God has never 
strayed from the apostolic tradition and 
has never been tainted by heresy, be- 
cause it has been said to Peter: "I have 
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 

82. St. Leo II. 682-683 

Sicily. In his decree, confirming the VI. 
General Council, he says: "We confirm 
it with the authority of St. Peter." 

83. St. Benedict II. 684-685 

Rome. 

84. John V. 685-686 

Syria. 



— 100 — 

85. Conon ,.686-687 

Thrace. Ordained St. Kilian, apostle of 
Franconia, Germany. 

86. St. Sergius I 687-701 

Sicily. Cedualla, King of East Anglia, 
Britain, was baptized in Rome. Sergius 
made St. Willibrord, the apostle of Fries- 
land, bishop of that country. 

Century VIII.— 13 Popes. 

87. John VI 701-705 

Greece. 

88. John VII 705-707 

Greece. 

89. Sisinnius 708 

Syria. 

90. Constantine 708-715 

Syria. 

91. St. Gregory II 715-731 

Rome. He gave apostolic faculties to 
St. Corbinian, the apostle of Bavaria and 
ordained St. Boniface, the apostle of 
Germany, bishop, and made him primate 
of Germany. 

L,eo, the Isaurian, emperor of Con- 
stantinople, began the dispute about 
sacred images. (Iconoclasts). 



— 101 — 

92. St. Gregory III 731-741 

Syria, held a council in Rome against 
the Iconoclasts. 

93. St. Zachary 741-752 

Greece. He saved Rome from the as- 
sault of the Lombards, and ratified the 
election of Pepin to the throne of the 
Franks. 

94. St. Stephen II. 752 

Rome, died before his consecration. 

95. Stephen III 752-757 

Rome. He annointed Pepin, King of 
the Franks at Paris. Pepin defeated the 
troublesome Lombards, and gave the 
provinces and cities, taken from them, 
to the Holy See. 

96. St. Paid I. 757-767 

Rome. 

97. Stephen IV 768-771 

Sicily. 

98. Adrian I. 771-795 

Rome. Friend of Charles the Great. 
VII. General Council (at Nice, 787), 
which condemned the heresy of the 
Iconoclasts. 

99. St. Leo III. 795-816 

Rome. Consecrated Charles the Great, 
Roman emperor of the West, and pro- 
tector of the Church. 



— 102 — 

Century IX.— 20 Popes. 

100. St. Stephen V. 816-817 

Rome. 

101. St. Paschal I. 817-824 

Rome, showed great zeal for the conver- 
sion of Denmark. 

102. Eugene II. 824-827 

Rome, held a council in Rome which 
decreed that in all episcopal cities, in 
parishes and fitting localities, schools for 
common and higher education should be 
erected. 

103. Valentine 827 

Rome, reigned 40 days. 

104. Gregory IV 827-843 

Rome, conferred the pallium on St. 
Ansgar, and appointed him apostolic 
legate over the northern nations. 

105. Sergius II 844-847 

Rome. 

106. St. Leo IV. 847-855 

Rome. The piratical Saracens, who 
ravaged the coasts of Italy, were de- 
feated by the papal army, and the port of 
the Tiber and Rome protected by forti- 
fications. 



— 103 — 

107. Benedict III 855-858 

Rome. 

108. St. Nicholas I 858-867 

Rome. A great and energetic Pope in 
troubled times. He upheld the sacred- 
ness of marriage against emperor Lothar 
II., and enforced ecclesiastical discipline 
and law everywhere. Beginning of the 
Greek Schism. 

109. Adrian II 867-872 

Rome. VIII. General Council, held at 
Constantinople, condemned Photius and 
settled the Greek Schism. (869-870.) 

110. John VIII. 872-882 

Rome, received St. Methodius, apostle 
of the Slavs in Rome, and granted spe- 
cial faculties to him. 

Ill Marinus 1 882-884 

Friend of King Alfred of England. 

112. St. Adrian III 884-885 

Rome. 

US. Stephen VI 885-891 

Rome, a father of the poor. He distrib- 
uted all his property among the needy 
when he became Pope. 



— 104 — 

1U Formosus 891-896 

Italy. Crowned Arnulf, emperor of 
Germany. The Greek schismatics sub- 
mitted to the Pope. 

115. Boniface VI 896 

Rome. 

116. Stephen VII 897-898 

Rome. 

117. Romanus 898 

Italy. 

118. Theodore II. '..898 

Rome. 

119. John IX 898-900 

Italy. 

Century X.— 27 Popes. 

During this period the Holy See suf- 
fered greatly from the disturbances 
caused by contending and powerful 
factions. 

120. Benedict IV. 900-903 

Rome. 

121. Leo V 90S 

Italy. 

122. Christopher 903-904 

Rome. 



— 105 — 

123. Sergius III 904-911 

Rome. 

124. Anastasius III 911-913 

Rome. 

125. Landus > 913-914 

Italy. 

126. John X 915-928 

Italy. 

127. Leo VI 928-929 

Rome. 

128. Stephen VIII 929-931 

Rome. 

129. John XI 931-936 

Rome. 

130. Leo VII. 936-939 

Rome. 

131. Stephen IX. 939-942 

Rome. 

132. Marinus II ..943-946 

Rome. 

133. Agapitus II 946-956 

Rome. Conversion of Harald, King of 
Denmark. 

134. John XII 956-964 

Rome. The first Pope who changed 
his name after election. He annointed 



— 106 — 

Otto, the Great, of Germany, as Romaii 
emperor, which dignity remained thence- 
forth with the rulers of the German 
Empire. 

135. Benedict V „ 964-965 

Rome. 

136. John XIII .....965-972 

Rome. 

137. Benedict VI 972-973 

Rome. 

138. Bonus II 973 

Rome. 

139. Benedict VII 975-984 

Rome, held several synods against the 
sin of simony. 

U0. John XIV 984-985 

Italy. 

141. Boniface VII 985 

Rome. 

142. John XV 985-996 

Rome. 

143. John XVI ... 996 

Rome. Established rules for the canon- 
ization of Saints. 

1M. Gregory V 996 

Germany. 



— 107 -- 

US. John XVII. 996-999 

Italy, 

146. Sylvester II. 999-1003 

France. Gave to St. Stephen, King of 
Hungary, the title of "Apostolic Ma- 
jesty." The celebration of All Souls 
Day, which had been introduced by St. 
Odilo of Cluny, was made by him general 
for the whole Church. 

Century XI. — 19 Popes. 

147. John XVIII. 1008 

Rome. 

US. John XIX 1003-1009 

Rome. 

149. Sergius IV. 1009-1012 

Rome. 

150. Benedict VIII 1012-1024 

Rome. The monk, Guido of Arezzo, 
invented the system of notes, which 
caused a new era in the development of 
music. The Pope called him to Rome, 
and appointed him teacher of music. 

151. John XX 1024-1033 

Rome. 

152. Benedict IX. 1033-1044 

Rome. Resigned in the year 1044. 



— 108 — 

158. Gregory VI. 1044-1046 

Rome. Resigned in the year 1046. 

154. Clement II 1046-1047 

Germany. 

155. Damasus II. 1048 

Germany. 

156. St. Leo IX 1049-1054 

Germany. Michael Cerularius, patri- 
arch of Constantinople, renewed the 
Greek Schism. 

157. Victor II. 1055-1057 

Germany. 

158. Stephen X. 1057-1058 

Germany. 

159. Benedict X. ...1058-1059 

Rome. 

160. Nicholas II. 1059-1061 

Burgundy. Established the rule that 
the Pope should be elected by the 
Cardinals. 

161. Alexander II. 1061-1078 

Italy. 

162. St. Gregory VII 1078-1085 

Italy. A great and holy Pope, whose 
life was devoted to reforming the abuses, 



— 109 — 

which had crept into the Church, and 
resisting with heroic fortitude the en- 
croachments of princely power on the 
rights of the Church. When Henry 
IV. of Germany, who had done penance 
at Canossa and been absolved, rebelled 
again and invaded Rome, Gregory had 
to flee and died at Savona. The last 
words of the great defender of the 
Church were : "I have loved justice and 
hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile." 

163. Bl. Victor III. 1087-1088 

Benevent, Italy. 

164. Bl. Urban II. 1088-1099 

Rheims, France. He held a large assem- 
bly in Clermont, in France, in which the 
first crusade for the deliverance of the 
Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord was re- 
solved on. 

165. Paschal II 1099-1118 

Italy. His reign was disturbed by the 
struggle about the Right of Investiture 
between the Holy See and the princes 
(Henry I. of England and Henry IV. and 
V., of Germany). These princes claimed 
the right to transfer to the bishops and 
abbots of their realms the temporal 
power over their domains, i. e., to make 
them feudal lords by investing them 



— 110 — 

with crosier and ring; while the Pope 
justly claimed that crosier and ring are 
emblems ot the spiritual power alone, 
and that this investiture belonged to him. 

Century XII.— 16 Popes. 

166. Gelasius II. ..1118-1119 

Italy. The dispute about the Right of 
Investiture continued. The Pope had 
to flee before Henry V., and died in 
Clugny, France. 

167. Calixtus II. 1119-1124. 

Burgundy. The dispute about the Right 
of Investiture was finally settled by the 
Concordat of Worms (1122), so that the 
emperor should invest the prelates with 
the temporal power by the sceptre, and 
the Pope with the spiritual power by 
crosier and ring. IX. General Council 
held at the L,ateran in Rome (1123). 

168. Honor ius II. 1124-1130 

Italy. 

169. Innocent II. 1130-1143 

Rome. He held the X. General Council 
at the L,ateran (1139) mainly about the 
reform of Church discipline. 

170. Celestine II. 1143-1144 

Italy. 



— Ill — 

171. Lucius II. 1144-1145 

Bologna, Italy. 

172. Bl. Eugene III. 1145-1153 

Italy. He was a disciple of St. Bernard, 
who preached the second crusade. 

173. Anastasius IV. 1153-1154 

Rome. 

174. Adrian IV. ..1154-1159 

England. 

175. Alexa?ider III. 1159-1181 

Italy. Emperor Frederic Barbarossa of 
Germany besieged Rome, but a pestilence 
destroyed his army. He made peace 
with the Pope, and so did Henry II. of 
England. XI. General Council, held at 
the L,ateran, Rome, condemned the errors 
of the Albigenses (1179). 

176. Lucius III 1181-1185 

Italy. 

177. Urban III 1185-1187 

Italy. 

178. Gregory VIII. 1187 

Italy. 

179. Clement III 1187-1191 

Rome. The third crusade under Fred- 
eric Barbarossa. 



— 112 — 

180. Celestine III 1191-1198 

Rome. 

181. Innocent III 1198-1216 

Italy. Called the teacher of the world and 
the father of kings. He worked for the 
suppression of the Albigensian heresy 
and peace between the princes ; held the 
XII. General Council at the Lateran 
against the heresies of the age and for 
the reformation of morals (1215). The 
commandment of the annual paschal 
communion was framed at this council. 
St. Francis of Assisi founded the Fran- 
ciscan, and St. Dominic, the Dominican 
Order. 

Century XIII.— 17 Popes. 

182. Honor ius III. 1216-1227 

Rome, gave the papal approbation to 
the Franciscan and Dominican Orders. 

188. Gregory IX 1227-1241 

Italy, a great and saintly pope, who de- 
fended the honor and rights of the 
Church against the tyrannical Frederic 
II. of Germany. 

184. Celestine IV. 1241 

Italy. 



— 113 — 

185. Innocent IV 1243-1254 

Italy. He convened the XIII. General 
Council at Lyons, France, by which 
Frederick II., emperor of Germany, was 
excommunicated and deposed (1245). 

186. Alexander IV 1254-1261 

Italy. 

1S7. Urbanus IV 1261-1264 

France. Instituted the Feast of Corpus 
Christi. 

188. Clement IV 1265-1268 

France. Last crusade under Louis IX. 
of France. 

189. BL Gregory X. 1271-1276 

Piacenza, Italy. Held the XIV. General 
Council at Lyons (1279). Death of the 
great scholastics and doctors of the 
Church, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. 
Bonaventure. Rudolf of Hapsburg, 
king of Germany, restores order in the 
disturbed empire with the help of the 
Pope. 

190. Innocent V. 1276 

Savoy. 

191. Adrian V 1276 

Italy. 

8 



— 114 — 

192. John XXI 1276-1277 

Portugal. 

193. Nicholas III. ...,.1277-1280 

Rome. 

194. Martin IV 1281-1285 

France. 

195. Honorius IV 1285-1287 

Rome. 

196. Nicholas IV. 1288-1292 

Italy. 

197. St. Celestine V 1294 

Naples. Resigned in order to become a 
hermit. 

198. Boniface VIII. 1294-1303 

Italy. Mediated the peace between 
contending princes, canonized St. Louis 
of France, and proclaimed the first Jubi- 
lee indulgence. He defended the rights 
of the Church with great dignity against 
the covetous King Philip the Fair, of 
France, and suffered persecution and in- 
sults from the king's minions with apos- 
tolic fortitude. 



— 115 — 

Century XIV.— 10 Popes. 

199. Bl. Benedict XI. 1303-1304 

Italy. When his mother visited him in 
his pontifical state, the courtiers present- 
ed her arrayed in a rich dress; but the 
Pope would not recognize her until she 
appeared in the dress of her humble 
station. Then he arose, full of rever- 
ence, and said: "This is indeed my 
mother." 

200. Clement V. 1305-1314 

France. Under him the Knights Tem- 
plar were suppressed at the urgent de- 
mand of Philip the Fair, by the XV. 
General Council held at Vienne, France 
(1312). He established his residence at 
Avignon, France, which was continued 
by the five succeeding French Popes. 

201. John XXII 1316-1334 

France. A great scholar in canon law, 
and protector of the universities. He 
caused the erection of the universities, 
Cambridge, England, and Cahors, France. 
From him dates the tolling of the bells 
for the evening Angelus. 

202. Benedict XII. 1334-1342 

France. Established peace between 
Portugal and Spain. 



— 116 — 

203. Clement VI 1342-1352 

France. Cola Rienzi's revolt in Rome. 
During the fearful black pestilence which 
devastated Europe, the Pope protected 
the Jews against the excited people. 



204. Innocent IV. 

France. Heresy of Wyckliffe in Eng- 
land. 

205. Bl. Urban V. 1362-1370 

France. 

206. Gregory XI 1370-1378 

France. The residence of Popes in 
Avignon ended with him, and was taken 
up again in Rome. 

207. Urban VI 1378-1389 

Italy. Six months after his election be- 
gan the so-called Western Schism, caused 
by a number of cardinals, who claimed 
that Urban's election had not been ac- 
cording to the canons of the Church, 
and then elected an anti-pope, Clement 
VII., who was succeeded by Benedict 
XIII. 

208. Boniface IX. 1389-1404 

Italy. 



— 117 - 

Century XV. — 13 Popes. 

209. Innocent VII. 1404-1406 

Italy. 

210. Gregory XII 1406-1409 

Italy. A council was convened by a 
number of cardinals at Pisa in order to 
stop the schism, but resulted only in the 
election of another doubtful Pope, called 

211. Alexander V 1409-1410 

Who died in 1409, and was succeeded by 

212. John XXIII 1410-1415 

Who resigned in 1415. 

(These two Pisan Popes have been 
counted in the list on account of the 
doubts prevailing at the time.) 

Gregory XII. resigned finally at the 
Council of Constance, in 1415, under the 
condition that the Council be first legit- 
imately convoked by his authority, and 
then should elect another Pope to suc- 
ceed him. 

213. Martin V. 11+11-1431 

Rome. Was elected by the Council of 
Constance. The schism ceased. 

214. Eugene IX. 1431-1447 

Venice. Convened the XVII. General 
Council, which was held first at Ferara, 



— 118 — 

then at Florence (1438). The Greek 
Bishops submitted and were united with 
the Church ; but five years later the 
schism revived. Thus the Greeks them- 
selves, having submitted three times to 
the authority of the Church, have judged 
and condemned their schism. 

215. Nicholas V. 1U7-H55 

Italy. Fostered arts and sciences, and 
is one of the founders of modern science. 
He formed the famous Vatican Library, 
and gathered the greatest artists, scien- 
tists, and learned men of the age around 
him. During his reign Constantinople 
was conquered by the Turks (1453). 

216. Calixtus III. .... U55-U58 

Spain. He preached and supported a 
crusade against the Turks, who threat- 
ened Europe. The Christians vanquished 
the Turks' power in the famous battle 
of Belgrade. He issued a solemn de- 
cision that Joan of Arc died a martyr 
for her religion and country. 

217. Pius II. 1458-U64 

Italy (Aeneas Sylvius). Condemned the 
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, France, 
which became afterwards the foundation 
of Gallicanism. 



— 119 — 

218. Paul II. 1464-U71 

Venice. The first printing press was 
established in Rome. 

219. Sixties IV. 1471-1484 

Italy. Received an embassy of the Czar of 
Russia, which brought Russia's rejection 
of the Greek Schism and submission to 
the Church according to the Council of 
Florence. 

220. Innocent VIII. 1484-1492 

Genoa. Mediated peace in England, dis- 
tracted by the War of the Roses. Spain 
was freed from Mohammedanism and 
America discovered by Columbus. 

221. Alexander VI. 1492-1503 

Borgia, Spain. 

Century XVI. — 17 Popes. 

222. Phis III. , 1508 

Italy. 

223. Julius II 1503-1513 

Italy. Laid the foundation of the Basilica 
of St. Peter, was the patron of art and 
the friend of Michael Angelo, Raphael, 
and other eminent artists. He convened 
the XVIII. General Council in the 
L,ateran, Rome. 



— 120 — 

224. Leo X, 1513-1521 

Completed the Basilica of St. Peter, the 
grandest cathedral of the world. He 
excommunicated Luther. 

225. Adrian VI 1522-1528 

Holland. 

226. Clement VII 1528-1584 

Florence. Excommunicated Henry VIII. 
for divorcing himself from his lawful 
wife and marrying another. 

227. Paul III.... 1584-1549 

Rome. Convoked the XIX. General 
Council at Trent, Tyrol. He approved 
the newly-founded Order of the Jesuits. 

228. Julius III 1550-1555 

Rome. 

229. Marcellus II. 1555 

Italy. Reigned only 22 days. 

230. Paul IV. 1555-1559 

Italy. Published a bulla, in which he 
forbade, under excommunication, to es- 
tablish slavery among the Indians of the 
West Indies. 

231. Pius IV. 1559-1565 

Italy. Ended and confirmed the Council 
of Trent. He reformed the Church 



— 121 — 

music with the assistance of the great 
Palestrina. St. Charles Borromeo, the 
great Archbishop of Milan and true re- 
former of church discipline, was his 
nephew. 

232. St. Pitts V 1566-1572 

Italy. Through his zeal, a Christian 
fleet was put to sea and destroyed in a 
glorious victory, under Don Juan D'Aus- 
tria, the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. 

233. Gregory XIII. 1572-1585 

Italy. Corrected the calendar, which was 
gratefully received by the whole Chris- 
tian world and is to-day in general use. 

23Jf. Sixtus V. 1585-1590 

Italy. A great and just ruler, who made 
the pontifical states the best governed 
country in Europe and organized the ad- 
ministration of ecclesiastical affairs in an 
admirable manner. 

235. Urban VII 1590 

Rome. Died before his coronation. 

236. Gregory XIV. 1590-1591 

Italy. 

287. Innocent IX. 1591 

Italy. 



— 122 — 

288. Clement VIII 1592-1605 

Italy. Established peace between Spain 
and France and between France and 
Savoy. He published the revised edi- 
tion of the Vulgate Bible, which has 
been ever since the official text used by 
the Church. 

Century XVII.— 11 Popes. 

289. Leo XI. 1605 

Italy. 

HO. Paul V. , 1605-1621 

Rome. 

241. Gregory XV 1621-1628 

Italy. Founded the propaganda, and 
canonized St. Ignatius and St. Francis 
Xavier. 

242. Urban VIII. 1628-16U 

Italy. 

248. Innocent X. ,.1644-1655 

Rome. Condemned the errors of Jan- 
senism. 

244. Alexander VII. 1655-1667 

Italy. 

245. Clement IX. 1667-1669 

Italy. 



— 123 — 

246. Clement X. 1670-1676 

Rome. Forced Portugal to close its 
tribunal of the Inquisition. 

247. Innocent XL 1676-1689 

Italy. Condemned the four Gallican 
articles and firmly opposed King Louis 
XIV. of France in his attacks on the 
rights of the Church. 

248. Alexander VIII. 1689-1691 

Italy. 

249. Innocent XII. 1691-1700 

Italy. 

Century XVIII.— 8 Popes. 

250. Clement XI . 1700-1721 

Italy. 

251. Innocent XIII. 1721-1724 

Rome. 

252. Benedict XIII. 1724-1730 

Rome. 

258. Clement XII. 1730-1740 

Italy. Excommunicated Freemasonry. 

254. Benedict XIV. 1740-1758 

Italy. A man of profound learning and 
author of important works on canon 
law. 



— 124 — 

255. Clement XIII. 1758-1769 

Italy. 

256. Clement XIV. 1769-1774 

Italy. The conspiracy of the ministers 
Pombal of Portugal, Aranda of Spain, 
Tanucci of Naples, supported by Voltaire 
and the Jansenists in France, had pre- 
pared a storm of passion against the 
Order of the Jesuits, who had been the 
staunch defenders of the rights of the 
Church against the encroachments of 
absolute state power. The kings of 
these respective countries, mostly of the 
Bourbon family, combined to force the 
Pope to decree the abolition of the Order. 
The Jesuits submitted to the decision of 
the Holy See with dignified obedience. 
Shortly after the bloody French revo- 
lution broke out and swept over Europe, 
breaking the thrones of those absolute 
rulers, who had throughout the XVIII. 
century annoyed the Holy See and en- 
deavored to enslave the Church. 

257. Pius VI. 1775-1799 

Rome. The army of the French revolu- 
tion occupied the pontifical states. Pius 
VI. was dragged into captivity and died 
in Valencia. 



— 125 — 

Century XIX. 

258. Pius VII. 1800-1823 

Italy. With apostolic courage, he de- 
fended the rights of the Church against 
the tyranny of the all-powerful Napoleon, 
emperor of the French, although a cap- 
tive at Fontainebleau. But Napoleon 
lost his throne and the Pope returned in 
triumph to Rome. His first act was the 
re-establishment of the Order of the 
Jesuits in compliance with the general 
wish of the Christian world. 

259. Leo XII. 1823-1829 

Italy. 

260. Pius VIII. 1829-1830 

Italy. 

261. Gregory XVI 1831-1846 

Italy. 

262. Piics IX 1846-1878 

Italy. The revolution 1848 swept over 
Europe and drove Pius into exile. After 
his return, he promulgated the dogma of 
the Immaculate Conception of the 
Blessed Virgin, condemned the liberal- 
istic errors of the age in his encyclicals 
and syllabus, and convened the XX. 



— 126 — 

General Council at the Vatican, in which 
the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope 
was proclaimed. 

The King of Italy robbed the Holy 
See of the pontifical states and Rome, 
and since then the Pope has lived a 
prisoner in the Vatican. 

263. Leo XIII..... 1878 

Italy. Who has reigned in the See of 
St. Peter to the present day with mild- 
ness and wisdom. 

Note. — The number of the Popes from St. 
Peter to Leo XIII. is 263, an imposing list of 
great and venerable men, who succeeded each 
other in the See of St. Peter for 1800 years. 
While the dynasties of the greatest empires dis- 
appeared in the lapse of time, this is immortal- 
for the promise of the Eternal God is upon it. 

In the fierce battles of faith, they bore the 
first and greatest brunt— 35 obtained the crown 
of martyrdom and about 40 suffered prison and 
exile as Confessors of the Faith. 

Eighty two are venerated as Saints on the 
altars of the Church, and whatever was holy, 
good, and true in the history of Christian na- 
tions, found shelter and fostering care with the 
great and universal shepherds of Christ's flock. 

The See of St. Peter has ever been the center 
of Catholic unity, as St. Cyprian called it; from 
it the faith has continuously radiated into the 
world and been safeguarded against error; for 
our L<ord said to St. Peter: "And thou confirm 



— 127 — 

thy brethren. " The children of the Church all 
over the world look with reverence and love 
upon the venerable Pontiff in the Eternal City, 
the Father of Christendom. Of whatever race 
or nationality they be, at his throne all aspira- 
tions meet and are harmonized in the same 
faith and charity, of which he is the divinely 
appointed guardian ; for after Christ had asked 
St. Peter three times, "Dost thou love me?" He 
said to him: "Feed my lambs' and feed my 
sheep." 



OCT ^ 1899 



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